September Net – Kamal Hasan

Houthi militias’ violations and atrocities have targeted all Yemeni people even women, in blatant disregard for the norms and values of the Yemeni conservative society.

Since their coup of 21^st September 2014, Houthi militias have committed gross violations against women, including murders, abduction, displacement, torture and sexual abuse, enforced marriage. They breached all women rights under Yemeni laws and international conventions.

Women account for 40 % of war victims in Yemen. Mothers and their children also represent 70 % out of 3 million displaced people in and out Yemen.

The rebel militias have conducted about 20,000 violations against women. It even includes rape cases, verbal harassment, physical assault, marriage of minors, illegal detention, prevention of rights and education, according to Rights RADAR Organization.

Sam Organization for Rights and Freedoms said that 2440 women were killed from 2014 until late 2018. Its report also said that Yemeni women lack basic services such as food, clothing and medicines.

“Houthi rebels killed 402 women and wounded 2495 others in Taiz city in the period from 22 March 2015 to 31 January 2019,” Human Rights Information Training Center ( HRITC) said in a report.

HRITC added that 16 women were also killed and 21 wounded by Houthi-laid mines and explosive devices in areas they control.

Social Affairs Minister Ebtihaj Al-Kamal said Houthi militias’ coup on 21 September 2014, has caused the death of 500 women and the injury of 1950 others, including 3230 were psychologically tormented by the militia’s acts, eleven of them by direct torture.

In a statement on the International Women Day, Al-Kamal said “More than 120 women were killed and 115 other were wounded including 13 by mines in 2018 alone  in areas under the militias control.”

“The Houthi militias detained 18 women from Sana’a University and took them to an unknown place on October 6, 2018,” she added

The Minister demanded the international community especially the United Nations to take a clear and strong action towards this criminal militias that had practiced arbitrary killing of women and men everywhere in the country.”

“Yemeni women are celebrating the Women’s Day with all the world’s women despite the situation they have ended in the militias-controlled territories because of their subjection to humiliation and round up to jails for no reason,” she said.

Amnesty International also said in a report that Houthi militias held captives in their prisons “dozens of women”. They abducted them to extort money from their relatives

“Yemeni women are exposed to gross abuses mainly those opposing Houthis,” Rights RADAR  for Human Rights in Arab World said in a statement on the occasion of Women Day.

“Houthis have subjected them( women) to chasing, assault, enforced disappearance. In cases they killed the women,” RADAR added

“Many girls were kidnapped and might be raped in Sana’a and other regions under Houthis’ control,” the organization quoted eye witnesses as saying.

Secretary General of “My Rights” Center, Liza Albadwi, said Houthi militias continue to abduct and detain women with help of ‘Al-Zanainabit (Houthi militiawomen ) who monitor and kidnap women activists or any woman doesn’t support Houthi racist group.

The militias forced hundreds of minor girl to get married in their areas, Albadwi told September Net.

“Houthis took advantage of the dire living situations of girls’ families caused by the their elements’ looting of humanitarian aid and relief assistance,” She explained

Albadwi said international organizations and UN completely ignore these Houthi crimes, nor it acts to pressure the militias to release women and stop attacks on them, calling on all concerned organizations to response to end women’s suffering.

Houthi rebels have imposed house arrests on dozens of female activists in the areas they control, threaten them with deaths if they practice any activity, forcing many to flee to government-held safe provinces.

Houthi militias have recruited militiawomen called ‘Al-Zanainabit’. These women’s task is to attack, spy on and kidnap women, break into their houses and spread the theocratic and terrorist ideology of the group among women.

Yemeni Organization for Combating Human Trafficking said that the Houthi militias hold dozens of women without bringing them to trial or charging them with a crime, torturing the detainees and blackmailing their families for money.

The group’s founder, Nabil Fadel, said he received information from families, former female detainees, and other sources showing that the Houthis have been rounding up women, forcibly disappeared them for months to get ransom from their relatives to release them

The Organization warns that the Iran-backed Houthi militias are committing serious violations against women in Sana’a, practicing against them the most brutal forms of torture, which has never ever happened in Yemen’s history.

The organization said it obtained new information showing that the militias were carrying out atrocities such as “abuse, torture, and forced disappearances of women and girls in secret and illegal prisons.”