As upheaval continues across the Middle East, women have stayed in prominent positions in protests in many countries throughout the region.

As we’ve covered in earlier posts, women played crucial roles in political revolutions in Egypt and Tunisia. Now as violence continues in other countries, women have followed suit and stepped into the spotlight. This week in Yemen, thousands gathered to march in honor of Tawakkol Karman, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize (along with two other women) for her work, the first Arab woman to receive the honor. Karman had played a key role as an Islamic journalist in Yemen’s political revolution. During the marches, dozens were injured as pro-government gangs attacked the women with rocks and batons.

According to CNN, female protesters marched in three Yemeni provinces –Taiz, Shabwa and Sanaa. The largest took place in Sanaa where at least 15,000 females marched down the capital’s Cairo Street. The marchers called for the United Nations to impose sanctions against Yemen’s ruling family as well as for Saleh to step down from power. Check out this CNN video for interviews with the women involved:

For more coverage of the Nobel Peace Prize Awards, check out these sources:

• Washington Post: A conversation with Tawakkol Karman
• Al Jazeera: Background of Tawakkol Karman’s role in Yemen’s political history
• Huffington Post: “Awakening to Women: The Nobel Effect”
• Washington Post: Hillary Rodham Clinton’s response to the awards

This is the Gender Report’s Week in Review, a weekly post that highlights some of the major stories related to gender issues this week. Some of these stories may have already appeared in our News Feed or in the week’s Gender Checks. We’ll at times include a longer analysis of stories as well as bring attention to stories that may have slipped through the cracks of the week’s news cycle.