Amira Yahyaoui - Tunisia woman recognised for her continual efforts by winning the conflict prevention prize

In the past year peace activist and proponent of free speech, Amira Yahyaoui, has been recognised for her continual efforts by winning the conflict prevention prize by the Foundation Chirac.

Yahyaoui’s life story to date is one filled with sadness, but hope. Aged just 16 she was tailed by Tunisia’s secret police and beaten as a result of her activism. In 2005, her cousin Zouhair Yahyaoui died after being persecuted and tortured by the government for his objections to censorship in Tunisia. And after fleeing to France she was rendered stateless for several years until the fall of President Ben Ali, whereupon she gained a passport and returned to Tunisia. There she founded Al Bawsala, an NGO that monitors the country’s legislature and promotes free expression and the protection of human rights.

Tawakul Karman - Yemeni woman who is known as Mother of the Revolution

Known within Yemen as the Iron Woman, and Mother of the Revolution, Tawakul  is a journalist, politician, and senior member of the Al-Islah political party, as well as a noted human rights activist.

In 2011 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the first Yemeni, first Arab woman, and second Muslim woman to win a Nobel Prize. In 2005 Karman set up Women Journalists Without Chains, and started holding protests in the Yemeni capital two years later. Her name became well-known in 2011 when she led a series of protests calling for the departure of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Most recently, in January this year, she spoke out on what she believes is a collaboration between now former president Saleh and the Houthi rebels to undo the 2011 revolution by ending the transition process.

Amal Al Qubaisi - Emirati woman who is the first woman to be elected to the Federal National Council

In 2014 Dr Amal Al Qubaisi became the first woman to be appointed to the Abu Dhabi Educational Council, taking up the role of general manager.

An architect by profession, Al Qubaisi was also the first woman to be elected to the Federal National Council, and was the first woman to chair one of its meetings. In her role with ADEC, Al Qubaisi has made a bold statement of intent, saying she will personally visit schools and speak to teachers, school leaders and pupils about their concerns. Previously, she had worked tirelessly to convince the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation to document and preserve more than 350 historical sites in the UAE, including Al Jahili and Al Hosn forts.

Fatema Mernissi - Moroccan woman who is an ardent campaigner for women’s rights

Since 1975 Fatema Mernissi has been on the forefront of the critical dialogue about the position of women, and civil society.

A seasoned author of numerous books, Mernissi has written about women within the rapidly changing Muslim communities in Morocco, among other topics, and has directed sociological research for UNESCO, ILO and the UN Population Fund. Born in Fes in 1940, Mernissi is currently a lecturer at the Mohammed V University of Rabat, and continues to be an ardent campaigner for women’s rights. Her publication Beyond the Veil: Male-Female Dynamics in Modern Muslim Society, it still regarded a vital text on the subject.

Manal Al Sharif - Saudi woman who worked hard for women's right

When Manal Al Sharif got behind the wheel of a car in her home country of Saudi Arabia in 2011, she almost immediately became a focal point for women’s rights in the Kingdom.

Arrested as a result of her actions, which were part of a campaign to call for women’s rights to drive, Al Sharif was been applauded across the globe, and has since brought international attention to a number of women’s rights issues including the murder of five-year-old Lama Al Ghamdi by her father in 2013, and the plight of female domestic workers held in Saudi prisons.

Dubbed Saudi Arabia’s Rosa Parks, Al Sharif was honoured last year at a Women In The World luncheon in California, where she told an audience “To me, if you see something wrong, you have to speak up… If we keep quiet, nothing will change.”

Muna Harib - Emirati woman who promote acts of kindness

Helping others is second nature for Muna Harib Al Muhairi, an Emirati woman who has founded a string of charitable organisations.

After launching Seeds of Change - a group to promote random acts of kindness - and Buskha - an organisation which supports low-income Emiratis in rural parts of the country, Harib founded the Breathing Numbers project. Devised after visiting refugee camps in Jordan in the aftermath of the Syrian civil war, Breathing Numbers originally aimed to document the plight of hundreds of thousands of people trapped on the Jordanian border. The project has since developed to become even more humanitarian, supplying material assistance as well as an emotional boost to the refugee communities.

Buthaina Al Ansari - Qatari woman who achieved in Culture and Society industry

A tireless promotor of women in her home country of Qatar, Buthaina Al Ansari is at the forefront of positive change in the Kingdom.

Having developed a stellar reputation as HR director at telco Ooredoo, Al Ansari is the founder of Qatariat - a company that specialises in helping Qatari women advance in the workforce.

Qatariat has three main focuses: Qatariat Training and Development, Qatariat Magazine, and the Qatariat Development Consultancy. The executive has also been an ambassador of Women Leading Change Qatar, and a speaker at numerous events, where she regularly highlights her belief that women need to brand themselves and establish their own identity.