Quote:Like most Yemeni women, Karman used to wear the full face-covering niqab but she dropped it a few years ago when it began "getting in the way" of her activism. She remembers unveiling in public for the first time, minutes before stepping up to deliver a speech at a human rights conference in Washington.

"I discovered that wearing the veil is not suitable for a woman who wants to work in activism and the public domain," she says.

"People need to see you, to associate and relate to you. It is not stated in my religion to wear the veil; it is a traditional practice so I took it off."

Now Karman wears just a headscarf. Today, she wears a long plain black abaya with beaded cuffs and a pink, flowered scarf. On other days, she dresses head to toe in bright pink.