AKSHARA GOEL
A woman and her daughters sit outside their tent at a camp for internally displaced people near Sanaa, Yemen, August 15, 2016. Khaled Abdullah/Reuters
Yemen is witnessing a five-year-long civil war with its roots in the Arab Spring of 2011. It coerced Ali Abdullah Saleh, the long term authoritarian president to transfer his power to his deputy Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. However, the political transition was unsuccessful in stabilising Yemen as it was accompanied by a separatist movement in southern Yemen, massive unemployment, food insecurity and suicide bombings. Eventually, this led to a war between two non-state actors: with Houthis (political rebels of Shia group) and people loyal to Saleh on one side, and forces being loyal to Haidi government on the other side. Not going into much depth on the history of the civil war, Yemen has become a violent ground for regional and international powers. It is facing the most critical phase of humanitarian disaster wherein civilians are suffering the greatest, with around 100,000 reportedly being killed and 3.65 million being internally displaced, among the latter women account for a majority share of 76%. Three million of them are at risk of gender violence as reported by the United Nations Population Fund in 2018. The ranking of Yemen for gender equality has worsened following the civil war.
During the period of political realignment, women participated actively in the anti-government demonstrations held. Involvement of women paved the way for them to fight against gender apartheid as advanced by Afrah Nasser[1], a Yemeni blogger and activist. Women are no longer confined to the domestic/’private’ spheres (assumed as safe for women by the patriarchal structure) and are participating in ‘public’ spheres (spaces deemed by the patriarchal society as unfit for women where men play a dominant role).
Their economic, social and cultural rights continue to be limited even after 50 years of suffrage. For instance, limited access to humanitarian aid and food has resulted in uneven consumption of food by women, often leading to severe malnourishment of pregnant or breastfeeding Yemini women. It is often the case, as maintained by the Yemini activist Susha Basheren[2] that the female members eat after the men have eaten often leaving them with no food. Women are vulnerable to the existing inequalities which are getting exposed as the exploitation, associated with the gendered expectations of womanhood, heightens. They become prime targets because they are assumed to be the culture bearers and reproducers of the other-enemy resulting an increase in the practice of child marriage as a coping mechanism by conflict-afflicted families. Lawlessness in the form of theft, murder, harassment and proliferation of arms has exacerbated the anxiety concerning security and livelihood, particularly among Yemini women.
Nonetheless of the oppression experienced by them, the Yemen civil war has provided these women with an opportunity to form their agency and become active agents majorly in the peacebuilding process. Since they are passive spectators of the conflict and the victims of exploitation occurring in their private space, they understand the importance of peacebuilding. Consequently, Yemeni women joined diverse grassroots peacebuilding organisations aimed at the reconstruction of the economic, political, social and cultural fabric of their country. They make choices, have critical perspectives and offer collective responses to their situations. Basheren maintains that with the help of women organisations, Yemini women are trained and encouraged to turn skills like sewing or cooking into businesses for instilling and promoting the economic benefits to the civilians.
Women are challenging traditional gender relations and notions by fulfilling duties and responsibilities due to the absence of male members and are thereby getting acquainted with new skills, status and power.
For instance, in 2011 when protests were at the peak, a women protestor named Alia claims that she became an accidental activist when she found out that her husband who disappeared three years before was in jail. He was beaten, tortured and accused unfairly of having links with the Shia rebels in the North of Yemen. This incident compelled her to participate in protests and campaign for political prisoners.
A study conducted in Aden and Ibb (city of Yemen) by Safeworld in collaboration with Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient (CARPO) and the Yemen Polling Center (YPC) observed that women felt empowered and became resilient despite the insecurity. These women are playing an active role in war efforts to facilitate peace wherein they have been providing and coordinating humanitarian aid, offering social and psychological support to people affected by the conflict and promoting social unity. Women are developing strategies concerning the safety of their families and themselves, further contributing to the well-being of the wider community. UN Women in Yemen has been working towards involving women in political dialogues, peace negotiations and those aimed at conflict resolution besides assuring the inclusion of gender-sensitive provisions in ceasefire agreements. The involvement of women in negotiations ensures subsequent agreements and follow-up mechanisms address issues such as sexual violence and gender inclusivity.
Yemini women are playing a significant role alongside men in shaping the trajectory of their country while fighting against the restrictions on their mobility, livelihood opportunities, lack of access to resources and protection. Their mass participation has surprised Western observers who have acknowledged them as influential agents of change.
The views expressed and suggestions made in the articles are solely of the authors in their personal capacity and the Center for Middle East Studies and O.P. Jindal Global University do not endorse the same.
The author was a student of the Masters in Diplomacy, Law and Business program at the Jindal School of International Affairs
Notes
[1] Nasser, presently, is a researcher in the Middle East and North-Africa Division investigating human rights violation and human rights abuses in Yemen. At the time of the protests, she was an activist, independent journalist, and analyst reporting on the social and political dynamics of Yemen. [2] She is a gender activist at the NGO, CARE Yemen. As of in 2019 she is living with her husband and two young sons, ages eight and nine, in Sanaa – the capital city of Yemen. She is working to reshape the social and cultural norms of her country.
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