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Yemeni women face torture, abuse in Houthi areas: Report

 

In yet another attack, the Iran-backed Houthi militia on Sunday kidnapped Yemeni model and actress Entisar al-Hammadi near the capital city of Sana’a. Yemeni Feminist Voice, a leading activists' group in the country, Entisar al-Hammadi was held by Houthis due to her job in the fashion and cinema industry. As the actress's whereabouts remain unknown, a number of rights groups and activists are demanding her release.

Significantly, this is not the first time Houthi rebels have disrespected women's freedom and rights in Yemen. In recent years, Houthis have intensified their campaign of violence against women in the crisis-hit country. Hundreds of girls and female students have been abducted from schools and streets by Houthi rebels in various parts of Yemen.

As per reports, these girls and women are kidnapped due to various reasons including, false reports made against them and extortion purposes. Eyewitnesses have reported that girls and women are abducted from Yemeni regions by female militia members of the Houthi group.

According to a January 2019 Associated Press report, activists underlined that Houthi rebels often torture female detainees and blackmail their families. In April 2020, AP conducted an investigation in which it was found that hundreds of women were abducted by the rebels and held in secret prisons.

“First they came for opposition leaders, then protesters, now it’s any woman who speaks against them," said Noura al-Jarwi, head of the Women for Peace in Yemen Coalition, speaking to AP.

Female prisoners are subjected to verbal abuse, physical torture, and sexual violence at the hands of these rebels. Human rights bodies and activists have time and again raised concerns over physical abuses and gender-based violence faced by Yemeni women in Houthi-controlled areas in the country. Former female detainees have indicated that the aim of Houthis is to humiliate them with allegations of prostitution and rapes.

On January 28, 2021, the Houthi government issued a circular, restricting Yemeni women's access to birth control methods by mandating the husband's prior consent for the same. It also banned Yemeni women from working in restaurants, claiming that it contradicts "the conservative Yemeni identity”.

International human rights organisations have also accused Houthi militias of stepping up their violent actions against women in Sana's among other areas under their control. Last month, Sanaa-based NGO the Yemen Organisation for Combating Human Trafficking (YOCHT) accused the Houthi rebels who hold the capital of abducting women and girls to force their relatives to pay ransoms.

Unfortunately, only a few people are able to come forward to speak about the difficulties they face in Houthi-controlled areas. Relatives of various female abductees continue to remain in silence over the fear of shame in society.

The Netherlands-based Rights Radar Foundation is among many international human rights institutions that have called for detailed investigation into the kidnapping, physical abuse, and rape of women and girls in prison over the several years of civil war in Yemen.

Meanwhile, the Houthi rebels have continuously denied allegations of torture and sexual abuse against women prisoners.

“If this is found, we will tackle this problem,” said Radia Abdullah, one of the female Houthi ministers, during an interview.

It is important to note that Yemeni women live in fear in Houthi-controlled areas in the country. They are being denied basic rights and freedoms amid rising conflicts between warring groups.

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