Women in Yemen suffer from gender-based discrimination due to the highly patriarchal character of Yemeni society.Lackner, Helen. P.D.R.Yemen: Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia, pp. 114. Although the government of Yemen has made efforts to improve the rights of women (including the formation of a Women's Development Strategy and a Women Health Development Strategy), many cultural and religious norms stand in the way of equal rights for women. Poor enforcement of the legislation by the Yemeni government exacerbates the problem.
As of 2017, Yemeni women do not hold many economic, social or cultural rights. While suffrage was gained in 1967 and constitutional and legal protection was extended to women during the first years of Yemen unity between 1990 and 1994, they continue to struggle "in exercising their full political and civil rights".Basha, Amal. “Yemen.” In Women's Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice, edited by Sameena Nazir and Leigh Tomppert. Oxford: Freedom House, 2005.
On the other hand, women played major roles in Yemeni society in earlier times. Some women of pre-Islamic and early Islamic Yemen held elite status. The Queen of Sheba has been hailed as a "source of pride for the Yemeni nation". In addition, Queen Arwa has been noted for building up the country and promoting greater prosperity under her rule.
In modern day Yemen, women are subject to tribal and patriarchal traditions that keep them from advancing. Combined with illiteracy and poverty, this has led to women in Yemen being deprived of their rights as citizens.
Due to the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen since the end of March 2015, Yemen is undergoing a humanitarian crisis. The conflict has brought numerous accusations of violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law. The events have been brutal, and have had cruel consequences on all civilians, but especially on the lives of women and young girls. Due to the tension and chaos of the crisis, combined with the deep-rooted gender inequality, conditions for women and girls in Yemen are deteriorating as the conflict drags on. Women and girls have been left vulnerable to inhumane violence, physical and psychological abuse and exploitation.Two year conflict in Yemen's takes heaviest toll on women and girls
Women's rights in the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (South Yemen: 1967–1990)
Following the eviction of British colonial forces in November 1967, the leadership of Yemen's revolutionary National Liberation Front (NLF) installed a progressive Marxist government based in Aden, the former seat of colonial power in South Yemen. Women had been involved in the revolution as both political and military operatives, and this involvement contributed to the standing of women in the PDRY. At the outset of the post-colonial period, the NLF leadership recognized pervasive gender discrimination as a serious handicap which would invariably hinder the progressive development of an egalitarian society. The 1970 constitution of the PDRY guaranteed that: It shall work for the widest participation of Yemeni women in economic, social and political life and the raising of their educational, cultural, vocational, and technical capabilities. It shall struggle vigorously for the purpose of affirming and protecting the rights guaranteed to women by the constitution and the laws on the basis of parity with men.PDRY Constitution, 1970, Article 67 Women were also granted the right to vote immediately following independence from Great Britain in 1967. In practice however, women remained chronically underrepresented in the PDRY government; the first woman to serve in parliament was in 1990.
Nevertheless, these developments represented a remarkable step forward for women residing in South Yemen. In fact, these rights extended into the private sphere, in particular regarding the regulation of marriage. For example, the 1974 Family Law outlines marriage as "a contract between a man and a woman, equal in rights and responsibilities, made on the basis of mutual understanding and respect." Helen Lackner points out that "Along with the Tunisian Family Code, this law is the most progressive to be found in any Arab state."Lackner, Helen. P.D.R. Yemen: An Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia pp. 116.
Such laws provided the legal infrastructure necessary to promote a revolutionary reorganization of society in accordance with the fundamental principle of gender equality, and social egalitarianism more generally. Furthermore, the P.D.R.Y. attempted to mobilize women in rural areas through the creation of the General Union of Yemeni Women, which was responsible for protecting and promoting the interests of women.Lackner, Helen. P.D.R. Yemen: An Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia p. 117 The women's union provided literacy courses and vocational training, while in a broader sense setting an example for society that women can and "should be encouraged to participate fully and equally in society."Lackner, Helen. P.D.R. Yemen: An Outpost of Socialist Development in Arabia p. 118
Women interviewed in 2010 and 2018 about how conditions had changed since unification in 1990 said that the PDRY was a better time for women.
Access to justice While Article 40 and 41 of the 1990 unification constitution of Yemen stipulates that all citizens are considered equal before the law and that "Every citizen has the right to participate in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the country" gender discrimination is prevalent in Yemen.Constitution of the Republic of Yemen, 1994. http://www.al-bab.com/yemen/gov/con94.htm , June 23, 2007.
The addition of Article 31 to the constitution, contradicts article 40 by stating that "Women are the sisters of men... they have rights and duties, which are guaranteed and assigned by Shari'a and stipulated by law" has seemingly nullified the equality extended by the constitution due to its use as a base for discriminatory laws. This is due to the specific reading of Shari'a, which restricts the rights of women. Today, many Yemeni activist women believe that Shari'a can be interpreted to further include women in the social, political, economic, and cultural life of the country.
Many of the discriminatory policies restrict familial rights of women. Women in Yemen cannot marry a non-Yemeni without approval from both her family and the state. Further, under the Nationality Law of 1990, Yemeni women cannot pass their citizenship onto their children unless the woman divorces her husband, her husband is found to be insane or her husband dies, in which case the children can gain citizenship when they turn 19. The children of Yemeni men married to foreigners, on the other hand, are ensured Yemeni citizenship. Further, divorce and even testimony of women is not equal to that of Yemeni men. Yemeni men have the right to divorce their wives at any time without justification, a woman on the other hand must go through a process of litigation in which they justify their reason for nullifying the marriage contract. Before the court, a woman is considered only half a person, that is it takes "the testimony of two women" to equal "the testimony of one man." Additionally, women are prohibited from testifying in cases of adultery, slander, theft or sodomy by Article 45 (21) of the 1992 Evidence Law.
Other laws that discriminate against women are: Personal Status Law (1992) and Penal Code Law (1994). The Personal Status Law contravenes parts of the Convention on Eliminating All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), by stating that women are required to provide sexual access to her husband, basically permitting rape within a marriage.CARE Rapid Gender Analysis: Yemen, at2 Likewise, provisions in the Penal Code increase the vulnerability of women to violence. Article 232 of the Penal Code allows for reduced and lenient sentences of men convicted of so-called "honour killing". Under Yemeni law murder is punishable by death, however the Penal Code imposes a maximum prison sentence of only one year in cases of "honour killings".
Gender-based violence There are a number of forms of violence that women in Yemen are exposed to, and these include: physical and psychological abuse from family members, forced marriage, sexual harassment, forced pregnancy, rape, polygamy, health services deprivation and female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). Forced marriage and FGM/C are considered part of culture and tradition, and therefore they are not viewed as a form of violence in Yemen. In fact, 94% of FGM/C is not done by certified medical doctors, due to ministerial decree issued by the Minister of Health that bans FGM/C in the official centers; as a result, FGM/C has been conducted in the homes.Sixth National Report on the Implementation of CEDAW, WNC 2006 FGM/C is done as a result of cultural practices, lack of knowledge of the risk connected with this harmful procedure, and law of prohibiting this behaviour.
Within Yemeni society, there is a strong preference for male children, as well as a high tolerance of violent behaviour towards females. Thus, female children are often disciplined and punished, if they challenge this behaviour, and attempt to defend themselves. These practices do not only take place inside the homes, but also in schools, social institutes and workplaces. National and local media in fact, often encourage and reinforce the tendency for such discriminating acts and behaviour.
The most vulnerable group of women exposed to violence in Yemen is marginalized, poor and rural women. While conditions of poverty tend to intensify forms of instances of violence against women, rural women are also forced to carry out most agricultural work and physical labour. In 2022 Huda Ali Alawi, Director of the Women Research and Training Center at Aden University, reported that the Yemeni Civil War had driven an increase of gender-based violence in Yemen.
Discriminatory laws Women in Yemen are also subjected to violence through the institutionalization of discriminatory laws. Article 42 of the Crimes and Punishment Law No 12 (1994) amounts a woman's blood money (diya) as half of a man's, effectively devaluing the female's life to half as much as a man's. In the incident of unintended killing, law identifies a compensation for killing a male, of one million Yemeni Rial (YR), which is around US$5,000. However, female victims' families are compensated half that amount with only 500,000YR, which is US$2,500.Yemen: Republican Decree, By Law No. 12 for 1994, Concerning Crimes and Penalties, Article 42