Women in Development and Peace – Hebah Mohammed
Yemeni women encounter significant challenges in the field of media due to the difficult social and political conditions the country is going through. Nevertheless, women actively participate in the media sector as an essential part, striving for fair and equitable representation in the media.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and international entities play a role in supporting and empowering Yemeni women in the media field. They work diligently to provide financial and technical support in Yemen, focusing their efforts on enhancing women’s participation in accessing media training and qualifications.
Media Support for Yemeni Women
CSOs have made significant contributions to supporting and empowering women in the media sector in Yemen. Yemeni women come across major challenges in this field, and CSOs are working effectively to provide the necessary support and assistance to women interested in working in the media. Faiz Al-Ashwal, Media Director at Tamdeen Youth Foundation (TYF), says, ” CSOs in Yemen play a pivotal role in supporting women in the media through a range of programs and activities aimed at raising awareness of women’s rights and issues, also combating stereotypical images of women – which often focus on women as homemakers – in local communities and religious discourse. These organizations also seek to highlight the role of women in society as partners in building and development.”
He continues, “But in recent years – specifically since the conflict began in Yemen in 2015 – civil society and international organizations have faced significant challenges; due to the unstable political and security situation, they are often vulnerable to harassment when conducting activities or awareness campaigns about women’s rights, limiting their ability to work effectively.”
Al-Ashwal points out that the division in parliament and its paralysis hinders the efforts of CSOs in implementing media advocacy campaigns for women’s rights and pressuring for the amendment of laws to enhance the role of women and their participation in public life and decision-making.
He explains that during the past decades, women’s achievements in Yemen have suffered a severe setback; as some relevant authorities have halted all media activities advocating for women’s rights in the work of CSOs and international and overall organizations.
In addition, Samah Al-Shaghdari, President of Society Voice Foundation (SVF), participates by saying, “There are many activities carried out by international organizations related to training women in the field of media, especially in digital safety and investigative journalism. This is not limited to women but is directed to journalists in general, as well as training in photography and podcasting, which is supported by many international organizations and CSOs.”
She added: “In the past, before the outbreak of the crisis, SVF made a series of developments that focused on the role of women and their media empowerment. A research action plan was developed on the image of Yemeni women in the media before the Arab Spring revolution. It also contributed to a media conference with multiple countries as a member of the ATC network, and the media action charter was formulated.”
Al-Shaghdari points out that the foundation focused on developing the media code of ethics and made it specific to empowering Yemeni female journalists, preventing the use of common vocabulary that gives a stereotypical or negative image of women. This took place at a major conference attended by a number of Yemeni and Arab media leaders.
She stated that the conference aimed to empower women in media and allocate a special section for women in television programs. There was also an agreement to exclude programs that use negative vocabulary and phrases about women. There was a future vision to train journalists and qualify them to address women’s issues without framing or discrimination and to dedicate a section for them in newspapers, radio, and channels.
Regarding the percentage of women’s participation in media training courses, Al-Shaghdari says, “The percentage of women’s participation in media courses before the conflict was more than 50%. We used to ensure the presence of women in many training programs, but sometimes we couldn’t train female journalists because most of the media leadership was male. We covered the shortage by inviting academics and female writers, and we made sure that the female journalists present in the field were a significant part of our training programs.”
Dr. Fatima Mashhoor, President of the Peace and Relief Partners and a member of the Yemeni Women’s Union, says, “The role played by CSOs and international organizations in supporting Yemeni women in the field of media is moving in two directions. The first relates to the issues, programs, and activities carried out by local organizations within the framework of implementing their strategic and annual plans. The second direction relates to the support provided by international organizations to CSOs, as international organizations align with the policies of supporting entities and the policies of CSOs in the context of joint programs and projects. Unfortunately, the support provided for women in the field of media programs is not characterized by continuity.”
Regarding the most important activities and programs carried out by Yemen Women Union to support women in media in Yemen, Mashhoor says, “At the Yemen Women Union, we have worked to unify efforts with the aim of enhancing awareness and empowering Yemeni women in the field of media through capacity building and training of male and female staff in the media sector, as well as developing diverse media programs and plans, and advocacy campaigns to support the fight against violence directed at women and girls.”
She continues, “Additionally, training is provided in preparing media materials that highlight the activities and programs of organizations, as well as in developing educational and awareness-raising media about issues such as early marriage for young girls, as part of implementing annual campaigns that last for 16 days. The support also includes training on covering the activities and events organized by the Yemen Women Union.”
On his part, Hameed Khaled, Peace Sector Director at ” Generations Without Qat (GWQ),” shares, ” GWQ is dedicated to enhancing women’s capabilities in various fields, particularly in decision-making and peacebuilding. However, the organization has not provided specialized training for female journalists. Nonetheless, we target many female journalists as participants from CSOs and women’s groups.”
He continues, “We also target female journalists who have a presence on social media platforms and some television channels. Among these diverse trainings are those related to women, security, and peace, with a focus on the national plan for implementing UN Resolution (1325) to enhance women’s participation, protect them from violence, and emphasize their role in relief, recovery, and peace.”
TYF’s Activities in Supporting Yemeni Women through Media
“TYF has provided a platform for the voices of young men and women in Yemen to prepare and present episodes on “Tamdeen Podcast” platform. The platform has hosted many Yemeni women from various specialties, and the episodes have addressed a range of important issues concerning Yemeni women, such as women’s rights, women’s participation in society, and violence against women,” according to the media director of TYF.
He added, “TYF also participates annually in the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” campaign. The media management of the foundation organizes a series of awareness-raising events and activities that shed light on issues of violence against women, and the importance of empowering and enhancing their participation in society.”
Challenges and Solutions
Al-Shaghdari says: “The biggest challenge we faced was the outbreak of the conflict that halted everything. The organization was established in 2010, and its first activity in 2011 was the film “Yemeni Women Making Change,” followed by a photography exhibition about the role of women. The political challenges hindered our work in supporting and funding women’s media. The solution to all these challenges is stability and ending the conflict because the role and status of women have completely collapsed in recent years, and the advancement of women has been set back.”
Fatima Mashhoor shares: “Women’s unions in Yemen face many challenges in supporting women in media and implementing media training and collaborating with various relevant entities, the most prominent of which is the shortage of the necessary financial budgets to implement the strategic plans and time-bound programs of the media department.”
Regarding proposed solutions to alleviate the situation and confront the challenges, she says: “To overcome these challenges, it is necessary to increase the allocations of financial and technical support that can be provided by international agencies and donor organizations to CSOs. These agencies and international organizations must strive to enhance the available funding for the union so that it can implement its strategic plans and annual programs aimed at serving Yemeni women in the field of media and other areas.”
She added: “In addition to increasing financial support, technical support should be provided to the union by offering knowledge, expertise, and specialized training in the field of media. Donor agencies and international organizations can contribute to enhancing the capabilities of the union’s staff and providing guidance and technical consultations to ensure the effective and timely implementation of its programs.”
She concluded by saying: “It is necessary to enhance cooperation and partnerships between the union and relevant entities, such as government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and international agencies. These partnerships can contribute to providing financial and technical support, enabling the union to access the resources and opportunities available for the successful implementation of its programs.”
Hameed Khaled raises other challenges facing international and community organizations by saying: “As organizations work within the community and with different segments of society and play a fundamental role in humanitarian response and supporting women’s participation in decision-making and peacebuilding, this path has been one of the challenges that have imposed on many organizations working in the relief field. This has reduced the focus on building the capacities of female journalists, in addition to the lack of funding from donor organizations related to building the capacities of journalists in general. All of these are challenges faced by most CSOs, and even organizations specialized in media work.”
He sees that among the proposed solutions is an increased focus by CSOs and media institutions – especially specialized institutions – on specialized programs and projects that work on building the capacities of female journalists in various areas, and enhancing their efficiency in order to play a pivotal role in highlighting social issues, women’s issues, peacebuilding, and other issues, such as climate change and development.