Aminatou Haidar
Aminatou Ali Ahmed Haidar (Arabic: أحمد علي حيدر أميناتو; born 24 July 1966), sometimes known as Aminetou, Aminatu or Aminetu, is a Sahrawi human rights activist and an advocate of the independence of Western Sahara. She is often called the "Sahrawi Gandhi" or "Sahrawi Pasionaria" for her nonviolent protests. She is the president of the Collective of Sahrawi Human Rights Defenders (CODESA). She was imprisoned from 1987 to 1991 and from 2005 to 2006 on charges related to her independence advocacy. In 2009, she attracted international attention when she staged a hunger strike in Lanzarote Airport after being denied re-entry into Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara. Haidar has won several international human rights awards for her work, including the 2008 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and the 2009 Civil Courage Prize. In 2012 she was nominated to the Nobel Peace Prize.
Read more about Aminatou Haidar: Background, 1987–1991 Forced Disappearance, 2005–2006 Imprisonment, 2009 Lanzarote Airport Hunger Strike, Post Hunger-strike Work, Awards and Recognition