5 Must-Follow Democracy Activists on Twitter

Courageous voices across the globe advocating democracy, transparency and accountability.

Twitter is not just a rich source of information on your favorite athlete, musician, and celebrity. There are many activists, academics and political leaders who risk their lives speaking out against repressive, tyrannical governments.

If you are interested in learning more about their unique perspectives and struggles, follow these five Twitter accounts that focus on democracy and human rights issues.

1. Sanjar Umarov

RT “@EFNetwork: #Uzbek court convicts Uzbekistan-Iran friendship society chair http://t.co/Yx80dtH3qt”
— Dr. Sanjar G. Umarov (@SanjarUmarov) November 25, 2013

Bio: A former political prisoner, Dr. Sanjar Umarov is the founder and chairman of Sunshine Uzbekistan, a coalition founded to promote human rights, the rule of law, and social and economic reforms.

Tweets about: Peaceful democratic change in Uzbekistan, child labor issues, and US-Uzbekistan relations. Tweets in English and Russian.

2. Ali Alyami

Saudi Arabia promotes global religious tolerance but discriminates against Saudi religious minorities and non-Muslims – http://t.co/nd3p5w6n
— Center for Democracy (@CDHRSA) November 26, 2012

Bio: Born and raised in southwest Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ali Alyami is the founder and executive director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, CDHR, in Washington, DC.

Tweets about: Promoting peaceful and incremental democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia, including empowerment of women, religious freedom, free flow of information, free movement, free press, privatization of government industries, free elections, non-sectarian constitution, and codified rule of law, transparency, and accountability.

3. Zubair Torwali

Policy Makers and People of Pakistan: Join hands for a Peaceful Pakistan http://t.co/LJxe6NahCK via @change
— Zubair Torwali (@zubairtorwali) November 19, 2013

Bio: Researcher, linguist, and human rights activist. Born and raised in Swat, Pakistan, Zubair heads the Institute for Education and Development, a civil society organization working for the conservation of cultural, lingual and natural heritage among the linguistic communities in north Pakistan.

Tweets about: Corruption, religious extremism and gender and ethnic equality for all Pakistanis.

4. Shahid Kazmi

Attending TOT workshop on #Youth #Extremism & Radicalization in #Pakistan at #Lahore
— Shahid Kazmi (@ShaahidKazmi) December 1, 2013

Bio: Youth analyst, human rights and youth activist, peace practitioner, volunteer, social worker and blogger from the Pakistani Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Tweets about: Gender and religious equality, nonviolent change and reform for Pakistan.