Alia Mohammed – Women in Development and Peace
Despite the ongoing political, economic, and humanitarian crisis in Yemen and the suffering and hardships faced by Yemeni women due to displacement, internal displacement, and exile, several active Yemeni women’s organizations have emerged in the field of human rights and the defense of women’s issues.
These voices have played a pivotal role in highlighting women’s issues both inside and outside the country and have been able to leverage their skills and expertise to effectively contribute to promoting human rights and social justice, achieving equality, and protecting women’s rights in the difficult circumstances facing the country.
Lina Al-Hasani, one of the Yemeni women human rights defenders, is a member of the Executive Committee of the Regional Coalition of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa, a founding member of the We Are Network for Women Human Rights Defenders, the Women’s Network for Peace and Democracy, and a member of the Women’s Solidarity Network. Lina has become a model for Yemeni women human rights defenders in the diaspora, after being forced to leave her country in 2015 as a result of the conflict’s repercussions.
In her article “The Role of Yemeni Feminists in the Diaspora in Confronting Human Rights Violations in Yemen,” published on “Global Voice” website, she says: “Despite my involvement in Swedish society, an authentic part of me remains Yemeni, belonging to the homeland where I was born, raised, and spent most of my life, and only the difficult security and humanitarian situation forced me to leave.”
She pointed out that millions of Yemenis are in the diaspora around the world, as a result of the deteriorating political and security situation in the country. This is where the role of Yemeni women’s organizations in the Western world comes in, playing an important and active role in raising awareness, advocating for women’s issues, and working to amplify the voices of those who cannot freely express themselves inside Yemen.
Lina’s presence in Sweden, which guarantees freedom of expression and opinion, has allowed her to convey the true picture of what is happening in Yemen in international forums, especially the issues of women who are suffering from various challenges and hardships in Yemen simply because they are women, according to her.
There is also Huda Al-Sarari, a Yemeni lawyer and human rights activist who won the Martin Ennals Award in 2020, awarded by 10 of the world’s leading human rights organizations to human rights defenders.
Important and Effective Roles
Awtar Shamsher, a human rights activist, says: “Yemeni women’s organizations play an important role in raising awareness among all segments of society about women’s rights and gender identity issues at the local and global levels, through organizing workshops, seminars, and impactful media campaigns. They also strive to change old concepts about the role of women within or outside society, and work to highlight the real and active role that women play in our Yemeni society in peace negotiations and the political process.”
She added: “Many women’s organizations work in the field of advocacy and lobbying to enact laws that support women’s rights in Yemen. Through this context, they can engage in dialogues to convey the concept of women’s rights and their participation in political and social life, despite all the great difficulties they face in the Yemeni field as a result of the conflicts that have been taking place in Yemen since 2015. Despite this, they continue to provide some feminist initiatives that provide psychological and legal assistance to women who are suffering from any type of aggression or discrimination, whether in the form of legal assistance or psychological support.”
The Impact of Women’s Entities on Yemeni Affairs
Yemen has witnessed widespread human rights violations since the outbreak of the conflict. In the years of conflict, many humanitarian cases have been recorded that have been subjected to violations among women, youth, and children within the Yemeni context. In light of these circumstances, women’s organizations in the diaspora have played a major role in documenting these violations and have helped to convey the voices of the oppressed and defend them at the international level.
Qubool Al-Absi, Head of Qarar Media Foundation, believes that Yemeni women’s organizations in diaspora countries have worked in various aspects and that there are many organizations formed from groups of women, civil society organizations, and activists whose roles have emerged in the field of human rights, peacebuilding, empowering youth capabilities in various fields, and strengthening their priority in promoting the peace process. In addition, there are many of these organizations or institutions led by women who have worked to advocate for the cases of detainees and those forcibly abducted, and those who have been released and have provided them with a lot of support, most importantly psychological support programs.
She added: “Many women’s organizations in diaspora countries have worked on the file of detainees and women who have been imprisoned in foreign countries, advocated for them, and pressured decision-makers to release them. They have also worked in the field of relief for women within diaspora countries.”
She pointed out in her conversation that women’s organizations and institutions have played a major and pivotal role in monitoring human rights violations that have occurred in Yemen, north and south, as a result of the ongoing conflict, by highlighting the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen, and the violations that children are subjected to in international reports that have been raised in international advocacy.
She continues by saying: “We find that many women’s institutions and organizations have focused on economic empowerment activities for women, particularly targeting displaced individuals within the country, especially in governorates where there are many displaced women. These efforts include the implementation of capacity-building projects for women and youth, by supporting them to open small projects that help them overcome life’s challenges. We find many activities that have economically empowered women in areas such as production of incense, mobile phone repair, sewing, cooking, and other activities.”
She stated that their efforts aim to help rescue Yemen from its tragic circumstances by providing assistance, conducting fieldwork, monitoring human rights violations – especially those against Yemeni women – advocating for human rights issues, achieving transitional justice, and calling for peace, as women were neither a party to nor the cause of this conflict.
Challenges and Difficulties
While Yemeni women’s organizations in the diaspora have been able to make significant contributions to human rights, there are still many challenges and difficulties that stand in the way of their continued work and their ongoing defense of human rights in Yemen and abroad.
Regarding the most important challenges and difficulties facing women’s organizations in diaspora countries, Shamsher says: “Many women face significant challenges while performing their work, including the security and political situation and the ongoing conflict in Yemen. In addition, social and cultural barriers, such as customs, traditions, and stereotypes, affect the reduction of women’s role in several aspects, most importantly the political aspect.”
She also added: “Economic constraints, high rates of poverty and unemployment in Yemen, and the lack of a strong legal framework that protects women’s rights and ensures their access to justice, reduce women’s access to available economic opportunities.”
On the other hand, Al-Absi emphasizes that Yemeni women’s voices face many challenges, most importantly the scarcity of international community funding, which prevents them from implementing programs and activities that strengthen human rights issues in the world.
She says: “Unfortunately, some international organizations do not have the flexibility and fairness in distributing projects and funding, which we observe in the activities of some institutions and women’s organizations, which negatively affects the continuity of work.”
She pointed out that there is another challenge related to working in the Yemeni environment. Due to the division that Yemen is experiencing, organizations and women face difficulty in continuing, and the severity and degrees of these difficulties vary from one region to another.
Proposed Solutions
The issue of activating the role of human rights for Yemeni women in foreign countries is of paramount importance, especially in light of the difficult circumstances that Yemen is going through. To address these challenges, strong communication networks must be formed through the establishment of social media platforms and special groups to exchange experiences, information, and psychological support, and to participate in periodic conferences and workshops to discuss the issues facing Yemeni women in the diaspora.
Among the solutions is working to strengthen cooperation with international organizations working in the field of human rights to support the issues of Yemeni women, raise awareness of women’s rights in diaspora countries, protect them from all forms of violence and discrimination, work to implement documented reports on human rights violations against Yemeni women to the relevant international organizations, and provide financial and technical support for small projects led by Yemeni women, and encourage Yemeni women to participate in political and social life in diaspora countries.
The voices of Yemeni women defending human rights at home and abroad remain the driving force and the driving wheel for the defense of human rights, despite the challenges they face, which require intensive efforts to strengthen this role and achieve goals at all levels, through providing the necessary support to women’s organizations in the diaspora and empowering them to participate effectively in human rights issues.