Female Agency in the Yemeni Transition

This is published in the International Training Programme for Conflict Management (ITPCM) and can be found online here.

For the first time since unity in 1990, Yemeni women are challenging tradition. Breaking curfews, participating in political activities after nightfall, reciting folkloric poetry and shouting revolutionary slogans became common during and after the Revolution. For women, the Revolution was truly exceptional. They participated in sit-ins and addressed mixed crowds. The decoration of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Tawakkul Karman underscored the activism of Yemeni women around the world. Yemeni women were featured in numerous magazines, websites and newspapers as champions of civil society. During the uprising, women were equally as influential as men. In essence, women initiated a revolution within a revolution. The presence of Arab women in the public sphere during the Arab Spring misled many observers to believe that a women’s right movement was underway. Others were skeptical, warning that once political regimes began to collapse, the status quo would be restored. Only a few bothered to ask: what do women want from their Revolution? Yemeni women cannot uniformly answer this question because their experiences are not monolithic. The political dichotomy of the North and South produced alternate realities for women, especially as the North is more conservative and tribal than the South. After the unity in 1990, these realities continued to change based on the location, affluence and heritage of a woman’s family. Coupled with Yemen’s patriarchal and conservative culture, it was difficult to establish a unanimous movement for women. The current transitional government has three women Ministers out of 35. The Technical Preparatory Committee (TPC)[1] for the National Dialogue was composed of 19% women. One female out of 301 members is a parliamentarian and two women are members of the Shura Council. These political positions, none of which are decision-making, give the impression that women in Yemen have a greater role in the executive branch. The term “feminism” in itself remains controversial, and gender issues must be handled with care. In a system that is discriminatory in its legislation[2] against women, “feminist” objectives can be sidelined. Since women’s freedoms were restricted after Saleh’s fall, it became apparent that some of the women who participated in the uprisings were merely pawns for opposition parties. Despite these setbacks, there have been minor improvements to women’s political participation. On March 18, the National Dialogue began, leaving the fate of Yemen’s entire female population in the hands of a few women from various political backgrounds. Their goal is to simultaneously advocate on behalf of their parties and organizations, as well as women more broadly. As of now, existing accommodations made for women are insufficient, making it difficult for the National Dialogue to facilitate gender equality. Women must lobby for their rights outside of politics, and approach the problem from a different perspective to see results. As Feminists or as Politicians at the National Dialogue?

Current president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, made a point of advocating a 30% female quota in the National Dialogue. The conference will separate members into nine working committees.[3] Members have submitted their committee choice to the President[4] of the dialogue and his six deputies, none of which are women. Soon, these committees will begin their deliberations. Even though women’s issues deserve broader representation across the board, the topic will be examined under the eighth committee, “Rights and Freedoms”. Constitutional reform will be discussed in a separate committee, “Good Governance”. The structure of the dialogue does not support wholesale changes to the status of women’s rights, and it is not evident that discussion of women’s issues will make it into questions concerning constitutional reform. The status of women and their inability to affect change through the Dialogue are exacerbated by two problems. First, some of the women selected to participate are at a crossroads: are they feminists or politicians first? Are they representatives of their party or of women? Yemen’s “democratic” transition has played out as an exclusively political process through which women are incentivized to champion ideas that oppress other women. Unified by gender but divided by politics, women in the National Dialogue will frame gender issues like women’s security, economic poverty and illiteracy as political issues. Based on political divisions, the methodology of dealing with these topics will vary. Religious parties like Islah, Ansar Allah (Zaydi), Al-Haq (Zaydi and Hanafi) and Al-Rashad (Salafi) would approach women’s issues from a Shar’iah perspective, but ideological differences are likely to cause disagreements. Socialist groups, independents and even Ba’thist will advocate non-religious reforms or a mixture of both. A single group of unified women is much more powerful than smaller groups of women that are at odds. These political issues will polarize the women’s agenda and make it susceptible to the principle of divide and rule. Second, the same tactics used to question the legitimacy of the dialogue can be used to challenge solutions proposed to promote women’s rights. Any “feminist” agenda could be quickly dismissed as part of a Western conspiracy, since the dialogue itself is viewed as a foreign initiative rather than the result of a grassroots national process. Like several Arab Spring nations, Yemen is witnessing a rise in Islamic fundamentalism. Four religious parties will participate in the dialogue, and since Islah gained more influence beginning in 1994, female judges were dismissed as “incompetent in Islamic Law” and public schools were gender segregated after the sixth grade.[5] A narrow implementation of Islamic Shari’ah is expected. In Yemen, female equality is argued as a social liberalization process antithetical to religion, which could guarantee its failure. In Yemen’s conservative culture, religion dominates politics. The prevalence of early marriages in Yemen provides a revealing case. When Islah gained influence in Saleh’s government, the marriage age of 15 was abolished[6]. Since 2007, several governmental and non-governmental campaigns were launched in hopes of mandating a marriage age, but none of them succeeded. Radical interpretations of Islam were used to manipulate and limit the scope of female self-determination. The problem of child marriages still persists. According to Amal Basha, the spokesperson of the TPC, it has been a struggle to add the issue of underage marriage to the agenda of the National Dialogue. Eventually, TPC members “unanimously agreed to give it social priority.” Addressing child marriages, again, as a social issue with the same political actors makes it hard to fathom how social transformation can emerge through the National Dialogue. If previous methods proved futile, Yemeni women need to seek alternatives. Gender Strategies Outside the Social Realm

To improve women’s conditions, women need to frame their arguments outside of politics. A strategy that separates women’s issues from traditional values could prove successful in Yemen. Currently, 54% of Yemeni women are married before they reach the age of 18.[7] By tackling the “side effects” of child marriages, Yemenis can limit its social prominence without causing an overwhelming social backlash. About 58% of Yemeni women are illiterate.[8] Educational policies put in place by the government can assure that more girls are going to school. In Yemen, marriage means being a full-time homemaker, and if more girls are going to school, then they are less likely to marry or having children at a young age. Other strategies can tackle the same problem. Innovative health policies can produce substantial changes in reducing the high maternal and infant mortality rates.[9] Poverty alleviation programs are another method through which women can lobby for reform. Since 44% of the Yemeni population is acutely malnourished[10], financial incentives can promote the use of contraceptives[11] to control population growth and address food scarcity. It is unlikely that women’s issues will receive special attention, since Hadi’s administration has been preoccupied with more pressing issues like security and military reforms. With soaring inflation and an unemployment rate at 42.5%[12], the nation is facing several challenges. Therefore, women need to address their needs by mobilizing collectively. Between Sa’dah’s six wars and Al-Qaeda’s occupation of Abyan, 50% of Yemen’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are between 5-17 years old[13]. Only a quarter of IDPs from all age groups return to their homes[14]. These challenges impose damage on the female body. Displacement can also lead to rape, gender violence, human trafficking, and prostitution. Women as a group need to realize that protecting their gender is feasible through security programs. Another collective concern is the deteriorating economy. In March, Friends of Yemen pledged around 7.5 billion dollars[15] in assistance to Yemen. While the majority of the money is allocated to development programs, the government must assign a portion of it to specifically empower female entrepreneurship Without change, the nation will continue to be the lowest ranked country in the world in gender equality. Increasing female participation in the labour market can decrease harmful social traditions. Using women as agents of economic reform can result in the creation of a new workforce that facilitates the self-determination of women. Conclusions

The national dialogue promoted the inclusion of women in the transitional process, but this inclusion does not guarantee a transformation of reality in Yemen. Previous tactics, like addressing women’s issues as social concerns, could lead to political manipulation. Also, these measures have been proven ineffective. The dialogue is still in its infancy. Until a clearer picture of the Dialogue’s trajectory emerges, women will not be able to formulate a viable strategy. The National Dialogue is attempting to address numerous concerns at once, while struggling to maintain unity and reform a corrupt political system. For the time being, women need to advocate through each of the nine working committees. The female members of the dialogue are responsible for tackling women’s issues strategically from every possible front, because the obstacles facing them are not independent of each other, but are closely related and must be treated as such. To restrict the harmful consequences of tradition, non-social solutions should be considered. For instance, increasing female participation in educational programs, health programs and in workforce can alleviate problems such as child marriage. If more girls are going to schools then less of them are available for marriage. Affordable and accessible health care can reduce early deaths amongst young mothers and infants. Economic opportunities for women can provide families with additional income. While it is challenging to demand equality in a conservative culture, it is reasonable to demand equal access to health, education and economic opportunities. For the full emancipation of women, Yemen’s constitution must clearly delineate women’s rights, otherwise laws will continue to sanction the oppression of women. Women in the dialogue need new methods and must remain cautious of political ploys. Gender equality is difficult to achieve, but it will only become possible once we are aware of alternative options.

________________ [1] A 31-member Committee commissioned by President Hadi to decide on the size of participants, the rules for eligibility and for the mechanisms used during the dialogue. [2] Laws do not dictate but rather permit discrimination. For example, the Personal Status Law on wife’s obedience sanctions marital rape and restricts women’s freedom of movement. [3] Committees are divided based on Issues: Southern Issue, Sa’dah Issue, National Issues, State-building, Good Governance, Military & Security building, Independent Agencies, Rights & Freedoms, and Comprehensive Development. [4] President of the Dialogue is President Hadi. [5] Molyneux, Maxine, “Women’s Rights and Political Contingency: The Case of Yemen, 1990-1994.” Middle East Journal 49.3 (1995): 418-31. [6] Khalife, Nadya, How Come You Allow Little Girls to Get Married?: Child Marriages in Yemen. New York, NY: Human Rights Watch, 2011. [7] “Yemen: A Wake Up Call to Early Marriage.” Oxfam International Blogs. Oxfam, 30 August 2012, retrieved on-line 15 March 2013. [8] According to World Bank Indicators, 2010. [9] “Yemen: A Wake Up Call to Early Marriage.” Oxfam International Blogs. Oxfam, 30 August 2012, retrieved on-line 15 March 2013. [10] Burki, Talha, “Yemen’s Hunger Crisis.” The Lancet 380.9842 (2012): 637-38. [11] Only 9.3% of Yemen’s population uses a modern form of contraception. USAID Country Health Statistical Report, Rep. Washington DC: Bureau of Global Health, 2009. [12] The Second National Millenium Development Goals Report. Sana’a: United Nations Development Fund and the Republic of Yemen, 2010. [13] The Republic of Yemen. Operational Unit for IDPs Camps. Information Center.Summary Showing the Number of Households by the Orginal District and Governorates. Sana’a: ROY, 2013. [14] Ibid. [15] Andersen, Inger. “Friends of Yemen: World Bank Vice President Inger Andersen Urges Support for Yemen’s Transition.” Friends of Yemen: World Bank Vice President Inger Andersen Urges Support for Yemen’s Transition, The World Bank, 7 March 2013 retrieved on-line 14 March 2013.

Obstacles in the Path of Female Education

Child Marriages

Image via Glamour Magazine

Child marriages remains one of the biggest impediments to female education. Ironically, it is a cause and symptom of this problem. In the West, the story of Nujood Ali, who was married at the age of nine to a man in his thirties and became known as the youngest divorcee in Yemen became famous, she even has a bestselling book, I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced. Once married, it is hard for young women to get a divorce; first, talaq unilaterally belongs to men, and second, if a girl attempts to get khul’a or no fault divorce, then she must return her pride price and forgo financial support (Khalife 9). This complicates matters because young women do not have their own money or come from really poor families who are desperately in need of it. While this rarely happens in the West, in Yemen, there are numerous comparable stories. The UNICEF revealed that in 2006, 14% of all females in Yemen were married before the age 15, while 52% (more than half) were married before the age of 18 (Khalife 1). Most children finish their high school education by the age of 18 but Yemeni girls are inclined to leave schools to fulfill household responsibilities. 

Health 

Image via PathFinder International

Young brides also means young mothers. The lack of education leaves many of these mothers with no options as “they have little chance of controlling how many children they have, or when they have them” (Khalife 2). Only 9.3% of all women ages 15 to 49 use a modern form of contraceptive, so it is not surprising that 45.1% of all women aged 20 to 24 gave birth before the age of 20. Moreover, these young mothers endanger their own lives as the number of women who die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth (also known as the Mother Mortality Ratio) is 430 per 100,000. This number is high but it appears low in comparison to the 21.6% of women who have a delivery with the assistance of a health care professional (doctor, nurse or midwife). If the mothers are not risking their own lives, then they are risking the lives of their children, the estimated number of infant deaths under 12 months (infant mortality rate) in 2009 was 58.4 per 1,000 (USAID).

Furthermore, uneducated mothers use Khat or Catha Edulis (family of Celastraceoe), which is a psychotropic plant commonly found in Yemen, Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. In the South, in 1978, the NLF was successful in preventing its use, except for weekends (Ghanem 8). However, during unification, Khat became accessible and its production remains unregulated. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) one of the consequences of khat is that it is psychologically addictive. Other studies revealed that it contains several chemical elements that function as a stimulant; causing Khat chewers to experience anxiety, insomnia, depression, moodiness, and hypertension. Moreover, the chemicals sprayed on the plants and pesticides are known to cause heartburn, constipation, anorexia, nasal problems and other digestive illnesses. Sadly, many of the illiterate mothers who chew Khat, are unaware of its dangers and think of it as a cultural tradition. Research proves that mothers who use Khat to have infants with lower birth weights and 40.7% of women in a recent study confessed to chewing during pregnancy (Saad 309). Indeed, the lack of education affects the entire society as 46.1% if all children are born underweight (USAID).

Female Workers

Image via Olga Engelhardt

Without formal education, many of these women are not equipped to work or generate their own income. Unemployment is high in Yemen, but it is even higher for women, 39% compared to that of men at 16% according to 2005 figures. Yemeni working women make up hardly 20% of all workers, and unless these numbers increase, women will continue to struggle for egalitarianism. Of those women who work, the constitute a minority in the fields that they work in, where 15.5% of education workers are females, and 35.6% percent of women work in the agricultural sector (Khalife 10). These numbers may not entirely disclose the reality of women working in agriculture. Many women work in farms that belong to men in their families and in such jobs, it is considered a duty so they do not get payment in exchange. Hakmah Ali, a 40-year-old woman reveals that all her life she has been working in her family’s farm, she explains:

My program starts early in the morning. I get up at 5 o’clock in the morning. I feed my two cows and ox. We have also 30 heads of sheep and goats. After that, I wake my children up, give them breakfast and ask them to take the cattle to the nearby areas to herd, said ‘Ali. After I finish my work at home, I go to the farm to help my husband or to bring something for the cattle to eat. (Al-Omari)

The shortage in educated females restricts women from choosing the professions they desire. Even when they desire a job, it is not that easy because 44% of women report that their husbands decide whether they work or not (Khalife 11). 

Cultural Tradition

Image via Asia News

“Do not put the gas next to the match”
“A dog won’t come unless its called”
“Women are deficient in intellect and religion as well as inheritance”
“If you follow a woman’s wishes you become one” (Boxberger, 119-120).

These are only some of the proverbs about women in Yemen. The first two reveal a lot about the social position of women. Yemeni society is very conservative and women chastity is expected and protected. In the first saying, women are compared to “the gas” and men to “the match”, the proverb warns of the “explosion” that inappropriate gender mixing can lead to. Many families are scared of sending their daughters to co-educational schools and rural families fear for their daughters and prevent them from going to school because they are too far. The next saying reveals that if anything happens, including sexual assault on a woman, then she is responsible for bringing it unto herself. Following that is a common saying that is based on the female Islamic inheritance (lil rajol haq al-inthayan - for men double the women); the culture deducted that it is so because women are “deficient”. Finally, the last saying is self-explanatory but is really problematic because it reveals an attitude that would challenge women once their education and employment increases. 

If a female is in a place of leadership, then she would have trouble gaining respect and mustering the support of her male colleagues. Experts like Linda Boxberger, view cultural traditions as the biggest obstacle in the path of Yemeni women in general (130). Many other families are just convinced that women are destined to be in marriages, so when coupled with economic hardships, they choose to send their sons over their daughters (see chart 6).

Chart 6: Proportion of Boys and Girls enrolled in Primary School by Country
Source: Baerlocher, Mark O. "Differences in the Proportion of Boys and Girls Enrolled in Primary School." Canadian Medical Association Journal 177.7 (2007): 712. Print.
Poverty

Image via Yemen Fox

The average size of a Yemeni family is seven (USAID) and more than half of Yemen’s population lives below the poverty line, while 16% of the population lives with less than $1 a day (‘Alim 6). If a family has many daughters then the parents chose to withdraw their daughters from school and marry them to a wealthier man in order to guarantee their survival. Poverty is only going to increase because the economy growth is decreasing (13% inflation) while the population growth is rapidly increasing (3.02% per year). Al-Mekhlafey predicts that poverty alters the priorities of families, making female education at the bottom of the list (274).

Tomorrow: Reflections and Recommendations (Female Education Yemen)

A Job First

Photo via Oxfam

If you are a Yemeni women living in Sana'a or Aden, by the time you finish high school, half of your female classmates are married or have plans to marry. If you are a Yemeni women from a rural area, then the odds are you are not going to school. The poorer your family is and the more siblings you have, the more likely that you will be one of those girls that has a child by the age of 13. The girls that make it into university are fortunate, but many are preoccupied searching for a husband, not necessarily because they want one but rather because they want to fit the societal expectation. I read an article once that stated that girls who are not married by the age of 27 are considered spinsters in Yemen (and I think they were being generous). Some countries in the region such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE are launching campaigns against spinsterhood, such as "Say Yes to Marriage". In Yemen, there is no need for such campaign because by the age of 21, odds are a girl is married and with a couple children. 

While Yemeni society continues to obsess about marriage, the country continues its downward economic spiral. A recent report concluded that early marriage is a huge obstacle in the path of development. A political sociology professor at Sana'a University, Dr. Abdulbaqi Shamsan, recently told Yemen Times that Yemen's demographics are changing; 70% of the population is young and about 50% of it is female. When women marry young, they retire to their homes  leaving the country depleted from a much needed workforce. Moreover, these young brides are increasing the country's poverty rates (more than 50% already below poverty line) and often suffer from illnesses and malnutrition .  Reem Al-Najar, director of The Marriage and Safe Pregnancy Project in the Yemen's Women Union (YWU), shared with the newspaper that YWU will be launching a campaign to educate the public about the harms of child marriages. 

Unfortunately, awareness campaigns can only take you so far. What Yemeni women need are opportunities. The economic outlook for the upcoming period is extremely bleak. Many men will have to accept the idea of their wives working if it means that their quality of life would improve. With high unemployment rates, it is hard for uneducated women to compete with men in the market, especially since most of the female working force is not paid. The transitional government will provide more economic opportunities for the population especially if the port of Aden is revived.  Perhaps the next campaign should say "Work First, Marry later". Women need to know about their rights as workers and must demand equal pay for the work they do. To those ladies who are looking for a husband, who knows perhaps a husband will find you because economically, as a couple, you are a lot more likely to live better.

Child Marriages in Yemen as of 2012

Background:

All over the world, the Yemeni female experience is affiliated with the retrogressive practice of child marriages. The international community is bewildered by stories like I am Nujood, age 10 and divorced by Nujood Ali, The Tears of Sheba by Khadija Al-Salami, and Sold by Zana muhsen that tell heart-breaking details of a lost childhood. The World Press Photo award given to Stephanie Sinclair was for a photo of two child brides alongside their husbands in Hajjah (pictured above). Since the start of 2012, according to Dr. Abdurrahman Suwaileh, three young girls in the governorate of Ammran committed suicide to escape their marriages while in another governorate a 13-year-old bride bled to death after her husband had relations with her. Ironically, even Yemen’s most notorious female killer, Aminah Al-Tuhaif, was a child who murdered her husband at the age of 11. Yemeni women of different economic and social backgrounds suffer at the hands of this customary practice. If unwarranted death or emotional turmoil of females is not a deterrent, then it is necessary to distinguish this practice as an obstacle in the path of the educational, medical and judicial advancement of the entire nation.

Child marriages is not just a cultural practice that is discriminatory against women, it is also a contributing factor to Yemen’s high population. According to the UN, 75% of Yemen’s population is under the age of 30 making it the 2nd youngest population in the world. Only 9.3% of all women ages 15 to 49 use a modern form of contraceptive, so it is not surprising that 45.1% of all women aged 20 to 24 gave birth before the age of 20. Moreover, the average Yemeni mother has about 5.5 children. The Mother Mortality Ratio is 430 per 100,000. If the mothers are not risking their own lives, then they are risking the lives of their children, as the estimated number of infant deaths under 12 months (infant mortality rate) in 2009 was 58.4 per 1,000 (USAID). Furthermore, almost 1 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished and by 2030 the population would be 50 million. Today, with increased conflict and a fragile economy, more than ⅕ of the population is living in conditions of severe food poverty (World Food Programme).

The UNICEF revealed that in 2006, 14% of all females in Yemen were married before the age 15, while 52% were married before the age of 18 (Human Rights Watch). Child marriages remain one of the biggest impediments to female education. Ironically, it is a cause and symptom of this problem. Women’s literacy is 28.5%, compared to 69.5% for males. The Gender Inequality Index ranks Yemen as country number 138 out of 138 with the highest illiteracy rates among females. Only 5% of women who finish high school become income earners. These statistics are astounding if viewed from western eyes, however, for Yemeni women it is nothing more than a deteriorating reality as more than 16% of the population lives with less than $1 a day.

Many NGOs and Yemeni female activists are aware of the challenges standing in the path of Yemeni women. Shortly after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, journalist Tawakkol Karman rallied on the streets of Yemen on December 10th demanding that this cultural practice be changed and that a minimum marriage age be set. Hooria Mashoor, Minister of Human Rights in the current Interim Government, has been a lifelong activist against child marriages and has worked previously with the Women’s National Committee (WNC) to draft a law that set the marriage age to 17. Jamela Saleh Al-Raiby, Deputy Minister of Public Health and Population, shared with numerous agencies her concerns and opposition to the practice. Oxfam, USAID, WNC, Yemen Women Union (YWU), UNICEF, Equality Now and WRA-Yemen (9 governmental institutions, seven NGOs and five Elected Individuals) failed in changing the reality of young (and poor) Yemeni girls. It is important that this transitional period provide transparent laws that clearly dictate the rights of women.

Child Marriages and Law:

Prior to the Unification of 1990, the conditions of women was dichotomous due to their political realities. In the Marxist South, the PDRY considered women workers with equal rights as men, as they abolished polygamy (except in cases where the wife was sterile), and prohibited talaq (man initiated Islamic divorce) which became strictly a court matter. On the other hand, in the North, the marriage age, for males and females, was legally set at 15 years old; however, it was not enforced. At times, when a family matter did not seem to be explained in the law, the adjudication was in the hands of the qadis or judges. Overall, in both parts of the country, the laws were hard to enforce over the entire territory as both governments never had full control.

After 1990, the laws that of the northern part of the country started to dominate and the age of marriage was set at 15. After the 1994 civil war, the Islah party gained many seats in the parliament and many of their members became influential in the government. In the following period, the constitution changed Shari’a from al-masdar al-ra’isi (the main source of legislation) to al-masdar al-waheed (the only source of legislation). Most importantly the marriage age limit was abolished on the basis that it was “un-Islamic” (other Islamic countries, like Kuwait and Bahrain set the marriage age to 16 while the UAE decided on 18).

In 2009, a movement against Child marriages gained influence and a bill was drafted to set the marriage age at 17-years-old. According to the Yemeni constitution, this process works as so; a draft has to be made then only the government must hand it to the Legal Committee of the House of Representatives. After consultation, the committee has two options, either to discuss the bill directly in the hall amongst all 301 members or to form a smaller committee from the parliament according to their blocs. In this case, the Legal Committee chose to do the latter; however, the smaller committee could not agree on a solution. Therefore, the bill was passed on to an additional committee that was to discuss the draft according to the Shari’a. If the bill was passed then the approval of the president would be necessary before the law is amended, but in this case, the Shari’a Committee shut it down in 2010 after handing in a 15-page report arguing against the creation of such law. Now in 2012, female activists are trying to change this law again.

Recommendations:

The situation in Yemen remains highly unstable; political and economic problems take center stage. It is up to female activists and policy makers to push for changes. A new constitution will be drafted, and it is essential that this new constitution clearly sets a marriage age (recommended at 16) while outlining punishments for violators. Furthermore, the new government has to earn credibility otherwise the law will not be adhered to. These laws would be fruitless if women are not included in the process of lawmaking. As of now, only one women (and one political party), Awras Naji (GPC), is a member of the parliament. The process of changing the marriage age is a heavy burden on one women. The interim government is already on a promising path as it appointed three female ministers. Along with these positive moves, Yemeni women need to learn about their rights to vote and their capacity to change their own futures.

While we wait for these changes to take place, women can defend themselves within the Shari’a framework. In Islam, Nikkah (marriage contract) is an agreement between two parties with mutual rights and obligations. A wedding requires ijab (man asking for marriage), qubul (agreement from the female), two male witnesses and a ma’dun. The parents of a young bride are accountable for what happens to their daughter; however, some loose restrictions can be placed on who can be a witness. For example, a requirement would be that the two witnesses need to be ethical individuals who are not paid for their presence. Furthermore, it is the duty of the Mad’un to make sure that the girl is fully aware of her responsibility as a wife and how her life will change and must seek clear indication of her acceptance. The state can restrict the prevalence of child marriages of requiring a civil registration at least a month before a marriage - this can require the signature of both parties. Finally, within the female islamic prerogative, a girl can ask for the creation of a marriage contract which can protect their current and future interest. Both, the Shafi’i and Zaydi schools allow the creation of conditions within a marriage as long as they don’t alter its main purpose. This means a girl can require that she finishes her education, work, gain proper medical care and even discusses custody of children after a divorce.

The reality is that Yemen’s conservative traditions are not legislated, however, laws and cultural practices sanction sexual discrimination. Historically, Yemen is a tribal society where kinship is indispensible. If we are to follow Lévi-Strauss' theory on kinship, then marriage in tribal societies is an exchange of women between men to build societal ties. It is another way to extend our influence and show our association. The role of society in preventing child marriage is undervalued because collective pressure is vital in changing traditions. The lack of public acceptability can act as a deterrent. This can start with affluent and influential families and the rest may follow. Yemenis need to know that democracy or even stable peace is unattainable without ensuring the wellbeing of half of their population; women’s rights is a primary building block towards moving forward.