Yemeni society is contradictory when it comes to women: on the one hand there are traditional norms that are protective of women and girls, and on the other hand violence against women and children is a practice embedded in Yemeni culture. Whereas before the conflict families and communities would provide protection; crisis and displacement has deprived women of their social capital and negative practices have increased.
The house has always been the place designated for women, and suddenly women found themselves outside this private sphere because of displacement; they are now exposed to the outside world. In addition to domestic violence, there has been an increase in incidents of violence outside the home, including rape, street harassment, and attacks by security forces on women searching for detained husbands and male relatives, as well as women protesting against rights violations.
In the whole of Yemen there are only six women’s shelters, and these shelters have limited capacity. There is therefore a vital need for more funding for local NGOs providing protection services including counselling, psychosocial support, legal aid and most importantly economic support to women GBV survivors.
Prior to the crisis the maternal mortality rate was about 360 deaths among each 100,000 live births, and with the crisis 19.7 million people lack access to basic healthcare. 1.1 million malnourished pregnant women are at risk of contracting cholera and other diseases. More funding needs to be allocated to reproductive health services to fill the gaps. Humanitarian aid is intended to save lives; at the same time, reproductive health is an underserved and crucial sector within humanitarian interventions.
The norm in Yemeni families is for men to be the breadwinner, but the absence of husbands and male relatives because of death, injury or fighting pushed women and young people to take the responsibility of feeding and providing for their families.
We need more funding for women and youth economic empowerment. Since the start of the conflict many women and young people have found themselves in the new role of family breadwinner, a position they were not prepared for and that they need to adapt to. Provision of micro loans and technical and skills training, as well as building awareness of policies that govern micro business in Yemen will enable families to generate income – something that is desperately needed.
Of course in addition to financial support, what is needed is continual and unrelenting pressure from international governments on warring parties in different areas to adhere to International Humanitarian Law and respect the work of humanitarian workers – especially women.