Dr. Bilqis Ahmed Mansoor AbuOsba

Yemeni political scientist, professor, and the founder of the AWAM Foundation for Development and Culture. For more than two decades, her work has stood at the intersection of academic research, anti-corruption governance, and Yemen's peace process — carrying the voice of Yemeni women into the rooms where the country's future is decided.

Dr. Bilqis AbuOsba's academic career began at Sana'a University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with honours in 1989. She continued her studies at Cairo University, completing a Master of Arts in 1997 and a PhD in Political Science — with a specialisation in political systems — in 2003.

Since 2004 she has taught at Sana'a University, holding joint appointments at the Faculty of Commerce and Economics and at the Gender Development Research and Studies Center. Her published scholarship has shaped how an entire generation of researchers reads Yemeni political life.

Dr. AbuOsba founded AWAM in 2005, formalising the foundation's registration in 2008. AWAM was built around a conviction she has repeated across two decades of public work: Yemen cannot achieve genuine development, lasting peace, or honest governance while half of its population is excluded from decision-making.

Under her leadership, AWAM has partnered with UN Women, co-authored civil society reports to the United Nations — including "Changes Ahead: Yemeni Women Map the Road to Peace" (2018), submitted with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and other partners for the Universal Periodic Review — and produced the documentary "Political Empowerment of Yemeni Women — Yemeni Will" (2009). AWAM has joined dozens of joint statements by Yemeni civil society organisations to the UN General Assembly, and has served as an institutional partner on academic research with Radboud University Nijmegen and Qatar University.

As Vice-Chair of the Supreme National Authority for Combating Corruption (2007–2013), Dr. AbuOsba was at the forefront of Yemen's institutional anti-corruption work. She led Yemen's team in preparing the self-assessment checklist of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and headed the Yemeni delegation for the UNCAC implementation review of Mongolia.

In July 2013, she testified before oversight committees at Yemen's National Dialogue Conference, calling for the repeal of laws granting immunity to senior officials, the establishment of specialised anti-corruption courts, and structural reform of the SNACC board.

Across Yemen's peace process she has participated in the 2016 Kuwait talks, the UN Special Envoy's Women's Technical Advisory Group at the 2018 Stockholm consultations, the 2019 Riyadh Agreement signing, and the 2022 Riyadh consultations. She now serves on Yemen's Consultation and Reconciliation Commission as rapporteur of its Political Committee (since 2024).