Sultana Khaya

Sultana Sidi Brahim Khaya (Arabic: سلطانة سيدي براهيم خيا), also known as Sultana Khaya (Arabic: سلطانة خيا / Spanish transliteration: Sultana Jaya), is a Sahrawi human rights activist and an advocate of the independence of Western Sahara and self-determination.^[3][4][5][6]

Sultana Khaya
سلطانة خيا
Born	Sultana Sidi Brahim Khaya 1980 (age 43–44)[1] Bojador, Western Sahara[2]
Nationality	Sahrawi
Occupation	Human rights activist
Organization(s)	League for the Defence of Human Rights and against Plunder of Natural Resources
Known for	Advocating for the independence of Western Sahara and self-determination
Awards	Sakharov Prize (nominee)

Biography

Sultana Khaya is the president of an organisation called the ‘League for the Defence of Human Rights and against Plunder of Natural Resources’ and is known for her vocal activism in defence of the right of self-determination for the Sahrawi people. She is also a member of the Sahrawi Organ against Moroccan Repression (ISACOM). According to a UN press release published in July 2021, Sultana has been "repeatedly harassed by Moroccan authorities and lost an eye when attacked by a police officer in 2007".^[7] On 30 November 2021, Amnesty International issued an urgent action call "to put an immediate end to the brutal attacks against Sultana Khaya and her family and to carry out a prompt, thorough, independent, impartial, transparent and effective investigation into the security forces’ abusive force and attacks against her and her family, including the report of rape and sexual assault, and ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice in fair trials".^[8]

Morocco's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, specifically denounced Sultana Khaya as "a supporter of violence" and for using "human rights for political ends", when he presented a letter to the UN on behalf of Morocco alleging that the Polisario Front fabricated reports of armed conflict and human rights violations against the Sahrawi people and incited violence in league with Algerian state media.^{[9][10][third-party source needed]} Moroccan authorities have kept her under de facto house arrest since November 2020,^[11][12] and Khaya has been repeatedly attacked, experiencing sexual assault and raids on her house.^[13] As reported by Amnesty International, in one incident on 15 November 2021, plainclothes Moroccan security forces broke into Khaya's home, raped her, and sexually assaulted her sisters and mother.^[11]

On 5 December 2021, Khaya reported on her personal Twitter feed that her house had come under attack, that all members of her family had been attacked, including her mother, and that she had been injected with an unknown substance. She attributed the attack to Moroccan [security] services.^[14]

In 2021, The Left in the European Parliament – GUE/NGL nominated her for the Sakharov Prize.^[15] In March 2022, a delegation of US-based volunteers, which included the acting president of the Veterans for Peace, broke the 482-day siege of Khaya's home in Western Sahara by visiting her.^[16]

See also

• Aminatou Haidar
• Nazha El Khalidi

References

1. ""Els sahrauís estem totalment fora de la cobertura internacional"" ["Sahrawis are completely outside international coverage"] (in Catalan). Diari La Veu del País Valencià. 8 August 2020.
2. "Sultana Jayak Euskadin egingo duen biraren xehetasunak" [Details of Sultana Jaya's tour in the Basque Country] (in Basque). Euskal Fondoa. 15 September 2022.
3. "Morocco/Western Sahara: Further information: Sahrawi activist raped by Moroccan forces: Sultana Khaya". amnesty. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
4. "SULTANA KHAYA". Front Line Defenders. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021.
5. "Exclusive: Sahrawi Activist Sultana Khaya Speaks from Moroccan-Imposed House Arrest in Western Sahara". Democracy Now!. Archived from the original on 5 April 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
6. Khaya, Opinion by Sultana Sidibrahim (29 July 2021). "Opinion: I've been raped, beaten and held under house arrest for fighting for my Sahrawi people". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
7. "Morocco: UN human rights expert decries "clampdown" on human rights defenders". Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
8. "Morocco/Western Sahara: Further information: Sahrawi activist raped by Moroccan forces: Sultana Khaya". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
9. Hatim, Yahia (25 February 2021). "Morocco Exposes Polisario, Algeria's Propaganda in Letter to UN". Morocco World News. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
10. Kasraoui, Safaa (15 October 2021). "Sakharov Prize: EU Rejects Candidacy of Polisario Activist Sultana Khaya". Morocco World News. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
11. "Morocco/Western Sahara: Further information: Sahrawi activist raped by Moroccan forces: Sultana Khaya". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
12. "Western Sahara: Harassment of Independence Activist". Human Rights Watch. 5 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
13. "Sultana Khaya". Front Line Defenders. 5 February 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
14. "personal twitter feed of Sultana Khaya". Twitter. 5 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
15. "Sakharov Prize 2021: the nominees". europarl.europa. 27 September 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
16. "U.S. Delegation Breaks Siege on Family of Activists in Western Sahara". Democracy Now. 18 March 2022. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.