Women in Development and Peace – Afrah Borji
In the current circumstances that the country is going through, with conflicts and radical transformations in various political and security fields, women face many challenges in all sectors, especially in diplomacy and politics. This is evident in their marginalization from decision-making, marginalization in leadership positions in governments, international organizations, civil society organizations, and diplomatic work, which hinders their potential to influence the course of events.
The lack of women’s participation in decision-making deprives society of half of its energies and potential, hinders development and progress, and negatively affects the quality of decisions, their impact on society, and the achievement of sustainable development goals.
In the same context, Alia Omar Al-Hamdi, Manager of General Administration for Women’s Development in Hadhramaut Governorate, indicates that the basis for assuming leadership positions is objective criteria and competence, regardless of gender, because women and men are equal in rights and duties, including the right to run for leadership positions. However, our reality in light of the conflict that our country has witnessed for nine years has led to the emergence of other non-legal or objective criteria for assuming leadership positions.
Al-Hamdi pointed out that the criteria currently followed include gender differences in the process of selecting the appropriate person for the political process or in the diplomatic field, in addition to political loyalties, tribal, ethnic, or partisan affiliations, in addition to personal relationships and favoritism that play a major role in choosing leaders and marginalizing other segments of society, and these criteria and others are paid for by the citizen who possesses high efficiency, and women in particular.
According to studies, it has become clear that such illegal and non-objective criteria have many negative consequences, which are represented in weakening the performance of institutions by appointing unqualified people in leadership positions, exacerbating corruption that becomes more widespread in institutions, as it is easy for them to exploit their positions to achieve personal gains, in addition to excluding segments of society from real participation in decision-making, focusing on men in the selection process, and marginalizing women.
In the same context, journalist Asim Ghalib says: “The marginalization of women in Yemen is a deep-rooted phenomenon that includes various aspects of life, starting from the political field, reaching government jobs and society, for multiple reasons, including customs and traditions that play a major role in marginalizing women, as they oblige them to stay at home, and deprive them from participating in public life, including working in the political and diplomatic fields.”
He added: “The continuation of the conflict has exacerbated the suffering of Yemeni women and made them more vulnerable to marginalization. The rates of violence against them have increased, and their opportunities for education and work have decreased. The patriarchy in Yemeni society has also marginalized women and deprived them of their rights, considering them, in the eyes of society, incapable of making decisions. The weakness of law enforcement, as there are not enough laws to protect women’s rights in Yemen, which exposes them to marginalization.”
The marginalization of women in Yemen in job opportunities, in particular, leads to many negative effects, which include weakening society as a whole, and declining development in various fields, in addition to exacerbating the problem of poverty.
Women’s Participation in the Past
According to the National Information Center, in a report on Yemeni Women: Active Participation in Elections and a Major Role in Change in 2006, it indicates that the presence of Yemeni women in the elections to participate in decision-making indicates their full effectiveness in the political and diplomatic fields. The number of female voters in the register of the High Election Committee constituted 3 million, 900 thousand, and 565 female voters, out of a total of 9 million, 247 thousand, and 370 voters, bringing the percentage of registered women to 40%. According to another statistic of the High Election Committee, 185 female candidates applied before 11 of them withdrew.
The National Information Center confirmed that Yemeni women were able in the past to participate effectively in political life in the past. They engaged in political parties and integration into national development efforts, which helped enhance their status through participation in political, economic, social, and cultural activities, albeit in a modest manner.
Women’s Participation Today
According to Jordan News Agency in 2024, a report on Yemeni Women Achieve More Despite the Consequences of War monitored a series of legal and human rights measures against women. These include depriving them of their freedom of movement and travel as a result of imposing the Mahram policy, or requiring prior approval from a guardian, as some government and private entities require prior approval from a male guardian (father, husband, or brother) for women to be able to travel or obtain certain services. This procedure has resulted in thousands of Yemeni women being deprived of participating in events or conferences to achieve educational or developmental opportunities, and it has also restricted women’s participation in political and diplomatic work.
Such measures contribute to the high rates of unemployment among women and the emergence of a gender pay gap in the workplace, as women receive lower wages than men for the same work.
The report also indicated that the Yemeni government is currently implementing a national plan for “Women, Peace and Security” in accordance with UN Resolution 1325 on enhancing women’s participation in decision-making and ensuring their protection in conflicts and from all forms of violence. However, on the other hand, the suffering of Yemeni women in conflict areas has doubled, leading to the deprivation of women from their basic rights to education, health, and economic rights.
Positive Indicators for Supporting the Participation of Yemeni Women
Despite the major challenges facing Yemeni women, there have been some signs of hope and change, indicating that there is interest in supporting women’s participation in various fields.
This interest was reflected in many decisions and appointments that were assigned to Yemeni women, most notably the decision of the Presidential Leadership Council, No. 155 for the year 2023, which decided to appoint 8 female judges as members of the Judicial Council, for the first time in the history of the Yemeni judiciary. This step is considered one of the positive and important signs on the way to achieving gender equality in Yemen.
The appointments of Yemeni women to leadership positions have been widely praised and welcomed by both the local and international community. More importantly, they come in conjunction with the expansion of the role of Yemeni women and their activity in various sectors at the national level, and in various regional and international organizations, through a network of human rights, humanitarian and political organizations and institutions, especially the work done by the specialized feminist advisory group and the feminist consensus group through the office of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Yemen.
The government has also recently enhanced women’s participation in the security and police sector, by opening women’s police offices in police stations, in a step that represented a major progress in the way of empowering women to contribute to providing legal and human rights care for women.
Difficulties & Challenges
Journalist Asim points out that despite the expansion of the role and activity of Yemeni women in various fields and sectors at present, they face great difficulties in diplomatic and political work. The most important of these challenges is not giving them full powers to represent Yemen in the required manner in the diplomatic field, the dominance of the masculine culture in diplomatic work, in addition to women being subjected to discrimination by their colleagues in diplomatic work or any other field.
For her part, Alia Al-Hamdi explained that among the challenges facing women in diplomatic work is not giving them the full opportunity to hold positions related to the social aspect in government institutions, such as directors of women’s development, social affairs, labor, and others.
Solutions & Treatments
The phenomenon of marginalizing women in Yemen can be addressed by changing the social customs and traditions that lead to the marginalization of women, enhancing their participation in public life, and working together to establish peace in Yemen, which has become necessary to improve the situation of women in general, in addition to combating the masculine culture, promoting gender equality at work, raising awareness of women’s rights and the importance of their participation in various fields of life, and enacting laws related to protecting women’s rights and ensuring their participation in public life.
Alia Al-Hamdi adds: “Among the proposed treatments is unifying the efforts of women’s organizations, which is a necessary step to achieve the desired change in women’s issues, through advocacy and awareness campaigns targeting society, focusing on raising awareness about women’s rights, the importance of their participation in various fields, and working at the international level to support women’s organizations and groups in organizing training and rehabilitation programs for women in various fields, and supporting women’s organizations in building their capacities.”