Sumaya Ali Raja (born c.1965) is a Yemeni journalist and political activist.Betsy Hiel

''Pittsburgh Tribune'', March 12, 2006. In December 2005 she became the first woman to announce herself as a candidate for the Presidency of Yemen.

Life

Ali Raja grew up in Taiz, in a family of seven children. Her father encouraged her and her three sisters to break with taboos and appear in public unveiled. After some education in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, she followed her sisters aged 14 to study at a

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

high school, and on to study

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Southwest Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

and

broadcast journalism Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. In the late 1970s she and her sister Jamila were among the first female TV newscasters in Yemen. She later lived in England, doing consultancy work for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

. She married and brought up two children in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. After the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

she created and ran the Yemen-French Forum to help explain Yemen to French policy-makers. Following her divorce, she returned to live in Yemen. Ali Raja announced her candidacy at an Arab women's conference, 'From Words to Actions', held in

Sana'a Sanaa ( ar, صَنْعَاء, ' , Yemeni Arabic: ; Old South Arabian: 𐩮𐩬𐩲𐩥 ''Ṣnʿw''), also spelled Sana'a or Sana, is the capital and largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governo ...

in December 2005. She was later joined by

Rashida al-Qaili Rashida al-Qaili is a Yemeni journalist who ran for President in 2006 with an anti-corruption focus. She also intended to increase freedom. She was the second woman to stand after Sumaya Ali Raja. al-Qaili was a columnist whose satirical ...

who was a satirical journalist who also stood for president. In January 2007 she announced her intention to established a liberal political party, Al Bushra Party, "to achieve equality between men and women, preserve heritage, and enhance the rights of children".Nasser Arrabyee
'Good omen' for Yemeni women
January 13, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raja, Sumaya Ali 1965 births Living people Yemeni women's rights activists Liberalism in the Arab world