Women in Development and Peace

 

Women’s participation in public life, including government institutions, is a fundamental pillar for achieving sustainable development and building fair, democratic societies in Yemen. Despite this significance, the number of Yemeni women in leadership positions within government institutions remains low, compared to the diverse skills and expertise they possess, which could contribute to improving decision-making processes within these institutions.

Over time, Yemen has faced significant challenges in the area of women’s participation in government institutions. However, there are several ways to enhance this participation and achieve gender equality in public service. This includes efforts at the political and legal levels to reform policies that hinder women’s participation in public life. This can be achieved by reviewing and amending laws and regulations that impede their entry into public service, such as appointment and promotion requirements and personal status laws.

Enhancing girls’ and women’s education involves providing equal educational opportunities for girls, encouraging them to attend schools and universities, and encouraging them to specialize in fields that offer job opportunities in the public sector. Additionally, promoting gender-sensitive policies entails strengthening such policies across all government programs and initiatives, ensuring they account for women’s needs and specific circumstances.

At the level of government institutions, the principle of gender equality should be applied in all employment practices. This is to ensure that the recruitment process in the public sector is free from any discrimination based on gender and provides equal opportunities for men and women to apply for jobs and occupy different positions.

 

The National Strategy for Women’s Development

The National Strategy for Women’s (Gender) Development 2003-2005 serves as a vital roadmap for enhancing the status of Yemeni women and empowering them across various aspects of life. This strategy aims to address the challenges faced by women that hinder their active participation in national development.

The National Women’s Committee drew upon several fundamental principles in drafting this strategy, which emphasizes gender equality and affirms the equal rights and obligations of men and women, as enshrined in Islamic Sharia, the Constitution, national laws, and Arab and international conventions ratified by the Yemeni government.

The strategy embodies Yemen’s commitment to implementing Beijing Platform for Action, a historical document stemming from the Fourth World Conference on Women, titled “Action for Equality, Development and Peace,” and Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It underscores the importance of collaboration among all concerned parties, including the government, civil society organizations, and mobilizing necessary financial and technical resources for its implementation.

The strategy lists key international conventions and treaties signed by Yemen related to women’s rights, including:

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by Yemen in 1994.
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, signed in 1987.
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Signed in 1987.
• The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Signed in 1972.
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed in 1991.
• The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, signed in 1984.
• International Labour Organization conventions.
• Equal Remuneration Convention, Signed in 1976.
• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, signed in 1989.
• Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, signed in 1989.
• The International Convention on the Political Rights of Women, signed in 1987.
• The Beijing Platform for Action, Adopted in 1995.

 

 

The Yemeni government has developed several national strategies aimed at partially or fully empowering women and narrowing the gender gap in various development sectors.  These include:

• National Strategy for Women, this strategy strives to achieve gender equality and empower women in all aspects of life.
• National Strategy for Basic Education, this strategy focuses on providing equal educational opportunities for girls and boys.
• National Strategy for Working Women, the goal of this strategy is to empower working women by providing them with decent job opportunities.
• National Strategy for Literacy and Adult Education, this strategy targets adult education, including literacy.
• National Strategy for Mainstreaming Gender in Agriculture and Food Security, this strategy aims to strengthen women’s participation in the agricultural sector and improve food security for Yemeni families.

 

The Situation of Women in Yemen

The “Status of Women in Yemen 2022” report highlighted that public sector employment is more attractive to women than the private sector due to shorter working hours, job stability, and a greater sense of security. In 2019, the number of women working in the public sector compared to the private sector was 20% versus 5%, respectively. This number was 24% in 2014.  The decline is attributed to the consequences of the ongoing conflict in Yemen, leading to a swelled government bureaucracy and a halt to public sector hiring since 2015. As a result, many women have been deprived of job opportunities to improve their living standards.

The National Women’s Committee report further indicated that over 40% of families lost their primary source of income due to the suspension of government salaries and layoffs in the private sector. Women were disproportionately affected by this, with the unemployment rate among women rising to 26.1%.

 

Job Treatment Experiences

Riam Al-Marfadi, Deputy Director General of Marketing and Promotion at the Aden Free Zone, offers a successful example of a Yemeni woman working in a government facility. She emphasizes that women possess immense capabilities that can enable them to reach top administrative positions. She mentions that some government institutions pay great attention to developing women’s skills through promotion programs and bonuses.

However, Al-Marfadi also highlights significant challenges hindering women’s professional progress and preventing them from reaching their full potential in various government facilities. She points out that women often face difficulties in getting promotions in government positions, and the process sometimes takes a long time. The number of women in senior positions within government institutions remains low compared to men, attributed to the conflict that has led to a near-total paralysis of the civil service, freezing promotions and settling women’s statuses. This significantly impedes their professional development.

In her own experience at the Free Zone, Al-Marfadi emphasizes that she receives respect and encouragement from all colleagues, starting from the leadership of the Free Zone to other employees. She asserts there is no discrimination against her compared to her male colleagues, but rather mutual respect and continuous encouragement from everyone.

Al-Marfadi stresses that hard work and achievements are the ultimate indicators of an employee’s competence, regardless of gender. Despite efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, she highlights the need to review legislation governing public employment to ensure women’s fairness and enable them to hold senior positions in government institutions.

From a different perspective, Taghreed Muhammad Mugahid, Director of Public Relations at the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training, points out that the situation of women in the country’s institutions is unsatisfactory across the board. She states that women are deprived of the right to exercise their work with full authority, hindering their professional advancement, diminishing their capabilities in various fields, and causing a loss of confidence in themselves, ultimately hindering their progress. Moreover, she highlights the absence of legal deterrents against discrimination.

She explains that Yemeni women face significant challenges in the post-conflict work environment, preventing them from reaching their full potential. These challenges include inequality in promotions, with promotions sometimes awarded to individuals lacking the necessary experience and competence to occupy leadership positions, representing an injustice to qualified women. Furthermore, the low salaries are insufficient to cover the needs of Yemeni women, especially with rising prices and a declining currency.  She suggests providing women with the authority and resources to develop themselves and reach their maximum potential in their work, all under the law.

 

Challenges and Solutions

The report “The Status of Women in Yemen 2022” highlighted numerous challenges women face in the public sector. These include frozen recruitment, with a halt in applications for public sector jobs negatively impacting employment opportunities for women. Additionally, there’s a predominance of temporary contracts due to the conflict, leading to a reliance on temporary employment. Salary delays have been common, with employees facing interruptions in salary payments. High illiteracy rates among women have been observed, posing further challenges. Moreover, opportunities for training and capacity building for women seeking employment are limited.

The report also proposed several solutions to improve the situation of women in government jobs. These include addressing salary delays by finding solutions to reinstate the payment of salaries to government employees promptly. Effective workforce planning is crucial, with comprehensive planning prioritizing fulfilling the needs and demands of women, who constitute over 37% of public sector job applicants. Recognizing unpaid labor is important, and conducting research on the economic contributions of women’s unpaid labor in agriculture is vital. Implementing flexible work arrangements and work-from-home options will empower women to balance their professional and family lives.