Aayat Al-Qurmezi

Ayat Al-Qurmezi (born 1991)  was awarded the Student Peace Prize of 2015 for her unwavering struggle for democracy and human rights in Bahrain. Al-Qurmezi is a former student at the University of Bahrain Teaching Institute. Representing both the students and women in protests, she has become a symbol of resistance against repression in Bahrain. She uses poem reading as method for expressing her views on the conditions in Bahrain, and one of her poems criticizing the Royal family got her arrested in 2011. The reading found place on the Pearl Roundabout in Bahrain, and was subsequently spread on social media.

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Despite of torture and sexual discrimination she experienced during her time in prison, Ayat Al-Qurmezi has continued her work for equality, regarding both women and Shia versus Sunni Muslims. After pressure from several international organizations, Al-Qurmezi was released from the prison after a few months.