Women in Development and Peace – Haneen Al-Wahsh
Becoming a businesswoman is no walk in the park, especially in a male-dominated society like Yemen. It’s not just about breaking the norm, but also about having ample capital, while women there lack even the most basic rights granted by national laws and international conventions.
Referring to herself as L.H., a Yemeni businesswoman currently residing in Oman, explains that she initially started her business endeavors in Yemen but faced numerous religious challenges that prevented her from finding a suitable environment for her project. This forced her to flee to Oman to embark on a new journey in the world of finance and business.
Governmental Challenges
“In Yemen, I faced many obstacles despite repeated attempts, firstly due to the economic collapse resulting from ongoing conflicts, and secondly, the difficulty in completing the necessary transactions and procedures from the relevant authorities.” This is what L.H. clarified, indicating that every time she goes to a government institution to obtain a license, they initially welcome her, but soon enough, their male-dominated tendencies start to surface, as they believe that a woman is not fit for business.
She also highlights the harassment women face in government facilities, including delays in processing the required transactions to maintain communication with them, as if they are waiting for something from her. Business and transactions are only completed with great difficulty.
She continues: “We receive no encouragement from the public sector, and instead of being service sectors, they are purely revenue-generating sectors; a significant portion of your commercial capital goes towards obtaining licenses and lengthy procedures, such as a professional license, establishment license, and the costs of obtaining a commercial register. Although the law does not require much time or money, the reality is entirely different, as you are shocked by the brokerage-like dealings.” She emphasizes: “If you manage to complete the procedures at government institutions and start your business, you are quickly pursued by additional collection bonds under the guise of cleanliness, improvement, and taxes, all while you are just starting your project; this diminishes your enthusiasm to continue.”
Many businesswomen in Yemen complain about the lack of sufficient representation in commercial and industrial chambers, economic conferences, decision-making processes, development and reconstruction activities, failure to adopt service programs supporting the needs of the economic sector, and contributing to providing funding for small projects. According to L.H., “If you find loans from private banks, the loan interest rates are higher, with shorter repayment periods.”
Social and Security Threats
L.H., the owner of an electronic project, faced many difficult challenges in society, saying: “The most prominent challenges I faced as a woman were when I put my personal number on billboards for my project; I was not spared from electronic harassment with provocative and indecent messages from unknown numbers.”
The electronic violence pushed L.H. to work under a male pseudonym to avoid societal harassment, but this behavior limited her business activities and led to frustration in executing many of her future projects.
As she says: “My business activity wasn’t satisfying for me and my family; I faced a lot of harassment from the community, and constant demands to stop; claiming not to speak or deal with men.”
The circumstances of conflict and the unstable security situation in Yemen worsened the challenges facing the emerging attempts of L.H. to clarify, saying: “The lack of security limited my business activity and eliminated many opportunities I was working on, which led me to the decision to leave.”
Oman was the available destination for her, and there she began to face threats to her work… she said: “In Oman, my family supported me to continue my activity… In Yemen, I didn’t find any respect from the Yemeni society for being a woman working in the business field.”
She traveled to the Sultanate of Oman, where she found a new work environment and started opening a commercial store to sell perfumes, incense, and Yemeni frankincense, with the financial return helped her to open other branches and become one of the most famous businesswomen there.
The End of the Tunnel
Yemeni businesswomen work in a challenging environment in Yemen, as in addition to the terrible economic collapse, the prevailing corruption has led the country into a tunnel of the dark market… according to the statement of Ms. Mirfat Amin. Mirfat says: “I worked in incense, and my home-based activity was extremely limited to cover part of the living expenses exacerbated by displacement, and during my work, I found many customers looking for ‘fenugreek oil’ that I was also missing at home due to traders’ monopoly; as it became sold in the black market like other consumer goods and essentials.” The project idea took over “Mirfat,” who found herself in front of a “press” used by its owner to press other oils, and she said: “I started pressing fenugreek oil and selling it in the surrounding area, and then I found a great demand from customers and started coordinating with other commercial stores to create sales points, and the sales points reached ten points distributed in Taiz Governorate.” Mirfat added many improvements to her product; like adding milk protein to produce shampoo and achieve better results, which brought her additional profit and increased the purchasing power of the product.
Mirfat’s activity culminated in her joining the Businesswomen Organization, and she said: “I joined the Businesswomen Organization, presented my project and the steps I took to develop it, and it was well received by the organization’s officials, and I was asked to open a small store initially, and obtain a license to practice the profession; to become a participating member in the organization.”
Mirfat managed to import a special machine for manufacturing her product at a value of up to 15 thousand dollars; she says: “I wouldn’t have succeeded in that without the contribution of the Businesswomen Organization with half the amount, and their continuous follow-up, and the encouragement of my family, who contributed to starting the work effectively and on the ground.”
Mirfat finished setting up her own store with the help of her son, who works in design, and she confirms that the work has been ongoing for three years, with a strict accounting system and great emphasis on the quality of the local product, and competitive pricing under the name “Bawazir Press.”
Mirfat is one of the inspiring businesswomen in the private sector, and her presence in the local market is increasing day by day to secure a prominent place in reality, and on social media platforms, she is a success story for many women in Yemen, as Mirfat confirms by saying: “The traders who underestimated my abilities at the beginning and treated me with contempt, are now rushing to reserve their seats in our customer ranks.”