Afrah Nasser
Non-resident Fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC (blog)
twitter: @Afrahnasser
email: afrah.nasser [at] gmail [dot] com
Non-resident Fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC (blog)
twitter: @Afrahnasser
email: afrah.nasser [at] gmail [dot] com
human rights | Middle East (Yemen)
Afrah Nasser is a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center in Washington DC. Formerly, she worked as a researcher in the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch investigating humanitarian law violations and human rights abuses in Yemen. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, she was an activist, independent journalist, and analyst reporting on Yemen’s social and political changes for over a decade. She is the founding editor of the Sana'a Review.
Nasser has written for and made appearances on numerous news outlets, including Al-Jazeera, The Monitor, Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and others. She is the recipient of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society Organization's 2017 Eldh-Ekblads Peace Prize, the Pennskaft Prize in 2016, the Swedish Publicists Club's 2014 Dawit Issak Prize, and the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award in 2017. In 2013, Nasser was named by BBC as one of the "100 Women Who Changed the World," and has been featured three times as one of the 100 most influential Arabs by Arabian Business Magazine. Her blog, created during Yemen's 2011 uprisings, has won her the recognition of CNN and Al-Monitor as one of the most influential blogs in the Middle East for her coverage of human rights.
Nasser holds a B.A. in English Linguistics from Sana’a University and an M.A. in Communication from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is a native Arabic speaker and is fluent in English, Amharic, and Swedish.
Recent publications:
Afrah Nasser is a non-resident fellow at the Arab Center in Washington DC. Formerly, she worked as a researcher in the Middle East and North Africa Division of Human Rights Watch investigating humanitarian law violations and human rights abuses in Yemen. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, she was an activist, independent journalist, and analyst reporting on Yemen’s social and political changes for over a decade. She is the founding editor of the Sana'a Review.
Nasser has written for and made appearances on numerous news outlets, including Al-Jazeera, The Monitor, Atlantic Council, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and others. She is the recipient of the Swedish Peace and Arbitration Society Organization's 2017 Eldh-Ekblads Peace Prize, the Pennskaft Prize in 2016, the Swedish Publicists Club's 2014 Dawit Issak Prize, and the Committee to Protect Journalists’ International Press Freedom Award in 2017. In 2013, Nasser was named by BBC as one of the "100 Women Who Changed the World," and has been featured three times as one of the 100 most influential Arabs by Arabian Business Magazine. Her blog, created during Yemen's 2011 uprisings, has won her the recognition of CNN and Al-Monitor as one of the most influential blogs in the Middle East for her coverage of human rights.
Nasser holds a B.A. in English Linguistics from Sana’a University and an M.A. in Communication from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. She is a native Arabic speaker and is fluent in English, Amharic, and Swedish.
Recent publications:
- "Yemen’s War Economy: A Key Factor in the Ongoing Conflict," Arab Center Washington DC, September 20, 2023.
- "Child Soldiers in Yemen: Cannon Fodder for an Unnecessary War," Arab Center Washington DC, February 2, 2023.
- "Yemen in Limbo: No War, Yet Still No Peace," Arab Center Washington DC, December 15, 2022.
- "The Flaws and Failures of International Humanitarian Aid to Yemen," Arab Center Washington DC, October 20, 2022.
- "Yemen’s Prospects for Unity Are Uncertain after Many Years of War," Arab Center Washington DC, July 28, 2022.
- "US Assistance to Saudi-Led Coalition Risks Complicity in War Crimes," The Yemen Review, March 2022, Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, April 7, 2022.
- "Yemen War Victims Beyond the Headlines," Human Rights Watch, February 2, 2022.
- "UN Rights Body Should Stand with Yemeni People," Human Rights Watch, October 5, 2021.
- "US Resuming Arms Sales to UAE is Disastrous," Human Rights Watch, April 15, 2021.