Violence against women is neither inevitable nor acceptable | Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed
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As we commemorate International Women’s Day, we look back at a
year with shocking crimes of violence against women and girls worldwide.
We all remember the story of the Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai who
was shot on 9 October last year, while returning home on a school bus.
In Yemen, some girls are forced to marry when they are still children,
sometimes as young as eight years old.
Violence against women and girls is one of the most widespread
violations of human rights. In Yemen, women and girls are victims of
different forms of violence. Through a recent survey carried out by
UNFPA it appears that harassment on the streets, mainly of women living
in the cities, are among the daily aggressions they face. Other forms of
violence are more hidden, often not well documented and many cases,
especially of domestic violence, are often never reported.
Gender-based violence is a global problem and gender-based
inequality, exclusion and discrimination are at the heart of
gender-based violence. In India, Dalit women experience high rates of
sexual violence committed by men of higher castes. Indigenous women in
Canada are five times more likely than other women of the same age to
die as a result of violence.
Gender-based violence has close links to poverty. Recent studies on
the global recession show that economic downturns and increasing poverty
can trigger an increase in domestic violence.
All women and girls have a right to live free of violence. Violence
against women is neither inevitable nor acceptable; it is a violation of
human rights for which states are accountable. Violence against women,
which is fueled by gender-based inequality, exclusion and
discrimination, is a constraint to sustainable human development.
Men and boys must be part of the solution to end gender-based
violence. A review of the evidence from 58 programmes around the world
that focus on men and boys in addressing gender-based violence show a
decrease in self-reported use of physical, sexual and psychological
violence in intimate relationships and increased social support of
spouses through shifts in community norms.
On this day, I wish to echo UN Secretary General’s words when he says
that “This year on International Women’s Day, we convert our outrage
into action. We declare that we will prosecute crimes against women –
and never allow women to be subjected to punishments for the abuses they
have suffered.”
I wish to say to all Yemenis, especially young people, that the
future of Yemen is up to you. You will determine what kind of future you
want and what kind of society you wish for your daughters and sons to
grow up in. Change might take time, but step by step, you will find the
future you are now developing evolving. During that process, and as part
of that future, all Yemenis need to take part in some way. Yemen cannot
afford to neglect the capacities, strengths, inputs, ideas, visions and
uniqueness of half its population. Women of Yemen’s voice have to be
heard.
Report: Women in Yemen
Following the uprising in Tunis and Egypt, protesters in Yemen, both
men and women, went to the streets asking for equity and dignity. The
uprising that continued for over a year surprised the world not only for
being largely a peaceful uprising, but also because of the visibility
of Yemeni women. Women have the right, and claim, the same equal
opportunities to participate in making peace and to ensure equality for
all citizens.
Through programmes and agencies on the ground, and with around 800
staff, the United Nations is working in Yemen on a wide range of issues,
always with a gender lens. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and
UN Women support the Yemeni government’s Women National Committee (WNC)
and Civic Society Organizations to promote women’s active participation
in the National Dialogue. Through the National Coalition that was
established, 5200 women and men in 10 governorates were encouraged to
express themselves and engage in decision making processes. UNFPA also
supports WNC to review laws that discriminate against women, especially
regarding reproductive health and rights, including early marriage, and
to report on progress made related to the Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
“The National Dialogue is a unique opportunity for women to express
their needs, participate in the design of a new state, and contribute to
social and economic development” says Marc Vandenberghe, UNFPA
Representative in Yemen.
Opportunities created by reducing Gender Gaps
Yemen got the lowest score out of 146 countries on the Gender
Inequality Index (GII) as presented in the latest Human Development
Report (HDR) in 2011. The Gender Inequality Index reflected women’s
disadvantage in three dimensions—reproductive health, empowerment and
the labour market. William Orme, one spokesperson for the HDR, said that
“It’s long been understood that if you are going to choose one magic
thing, one key thing, that you are going to invest in for development,
it is girls and women; schooling, women’s rights and participation. It
has dramatic, demonstrable benefits for society.”
More recently, the World Economic Forum presented its Global Gender
Gap report last year. The report includes an index which tracks the
strong correlation between a country’s gender gap and its national
competitiveness. The rankings are designed to create greater awareness
among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the
opportunities created by reducing them. Because women account for
one-half of a country’s potential talent base, a nation’s
competitiveness in the long term depends significantly on whether and
how it educates and utilizes its women. Also in this report, which
operates with a national gender gaps index benchmarked on economic,
political, education and health criteria, Yemen occupies the last place
in the overall ranking of 135 countries.
Gender relations in Yemen are shaped by diverse traditions, often
labeled as being religious, cultural, social or political. Diversity
among women within the country are also observed, for example, there is a
great differences between rural and urban women with regard to
educational opportunities, access to healthcare, the gender division of
labor, fertility levels and gender relations. A study on rural women has
shown that rural women in Yemen have very little space to share in
decision making.
Rural Women
IFAD, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, has been
involved in development initiatives in Yemen since 1979 and has sought
to ensure that rural women benefit from its investments. IFAD’s country
programme focuses mainly on the women economic empowerment as a basis
for their social empowerment. Accordingly, the interventions facilitate
increased access to the natural resource base, production and economic
services, and markets as well as enhancing their technical and
managerial capacities.
In total, IFAD financed programmes have provided three-level training
courses to 18,319 women in Dhamar and Al-Dhala – which facilitated the
formation of 276 community saving & credit groups. These groups have
in turn financed 2185 micro-enterprises to date. In addition, the
construction and rehabilitation of 299 km roads 5376 house-roof rain
harvesting cisterns have greatly assisted in easing the labour burden on
women, in particular in reducing the time to 54 min from 90 min for
collecting water.
“I feel better than ever before, and above all I can see the light at
the end of the tunnel that my family and I have been living in for
decades. This is just the beginning, not the end,” says Ibtsam, 19 years
old woman in Talhamah Village, Jaharan District, Dhammar Province,
following participation in a community and credit saving group.
Women – victims and solution
Faced with a humanitarian crisis “women are not only victims of
hunger, they are also the most effective solution to combating it,” said
Lubna Alaman, World Food Programme’s (WFP) Country Director in Yemen.
“Women play a key role in guaranteeing food security for the household
as food in the hands of women is far more likely to reach the mouths of
needy children. It’s why we put women at the centre of our efforts to
fight hunger.”
In Yemen, WFP focuses on women through three main activities:
Firstly, the 3.9 million food insecure people scheduled to receive
emergency food assistance this year are scattered across 557,145
households, of which 40 percent, or 228,430, are headed by women. WFP
intends to further increase the proportion of women holding ration
cards, receiving household food rations and being in leadership
positions in food management committees. Secondly, in the 2012-2013
school year, WFP is delivering take-home rations to 53,000 school girls
and their families across Yemen, and plans to increase that number to
58,000 for the 2013-2014 year. This programme is designed to keep young
girls in school, as well as improve the food security of the girls and
their families. It also helps address Yemen’s critical gender gap, high
female illiteracy rates, high rate of early marriages, and high
population growth. Thirdly, WFP plans to assist 157,000 malnourished
pregnant women and nursing mothers in Yemen in 2013, up from its 2012
target of 66,000. This approach will address high malnutrition among
women (estimated at 25%) as well as high acute and chronic malnutrition
among young children by supporting a robust start of life; malnutrition
in the first 1,000 days since conception can lead to irreversible damage
to children’s minds and bodies. Providing the right food at the right
time will offer a critical contribution to improved growth and
development. In a life-cycle perspective this too will contribute to a
healthy future for young girls as they grow into adult women and have
children of their own.
End violence against women
The official United Nations theme for International Women's Day 2013
is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against
women”. Globally, three out of ten women in the world report having
experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner at
some point in their lifetime. In most cases, the abuser is a member of
the woman’s own family, according to a study done by World Health
Organization (WHO) in 2005. Gender-based violence increases in times of
armed conflict, crisis, transition and socio-economic stress. The
breakdown in protection mechanisms that occurs typically increases rates
of violence, sexual harassment and trafficking of women and children.
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), through its local and
international implementing partners (IP), provides women and girl
refugees in Yemen with health-, protection-, and food services, as well
as assistance to tackle other challenges faced by urban refugees. UNHCR
is also committed to countering sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).
Every year, UNHCR celebrate the 16 Day of Activism to Stop Gender
Violence. SGBV prevention and response is a key component of all UNHCR
operations. UNHCR Yemen has allocated 1,284,296 million USD in 2013
especially to projects aimed at preventing and responding to SGBV.
The lack of protection mechanisms affects the entire population, but
hardest hit are often people living in already vulnerable situations as,
among others, refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants.
Women arriving to Yemen from the Horn of Africa are vulnerable to
robbers, rapists, abductors and traffickers. Many flee from war,
persecution, and famine in their own countries, Yemen serves as either a
transit country or destination.
Globally, as well as in Yemen, women migrants predominantly work in the
informal sector – often in unregulated professions such as domestic
work, agriculture or services; this makes them particularly vulnerable
to exploitation and abuse. Generally, the majority of victims of human
trafficking are also women and girls.
“For many women and girls, migration is a way to fulfill their
potential, to develop and to exercise their human rights. But being both
a migrant and female also exposes them to risk – the risk of being
subjected to violence,” says Ambassador William Swing, Director General
of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Migrant women in Yemen
In Yemen, migrant women and girls are especially vulnerable to human
trafficking; sometimes Yemeni women are also affected. IOM and partner
organizations currently conduct screening and direct assistance of
vulnerable migrants and victims of trafficking in Sana’a, Aden, Haradh,
Taiz and Hodeida. The types of direct assistance provided are
psychosocial care, medical care, shelter provision, legal services,
life-skills training, economic empowerment, distribution of ‘Dignity and
personal hygiene kits’, referral to UNHCR and assisted voluntary
return. In addition, IOM has ongoing counter trafficking awareness
raising campaigns (including a hotline service) in Aden implemented
through a local partner.
Some hardship stories do have joyful endings. Amira was apprehended
by the Yemeni Police while wandering the streets of Haradh in a totally
confused state, one day in 2009. She was thought to be an irregular
migrant, and was then sent to the Immigration Detention Centre in
Sana’a. While detained, a Yemeni Red Crescent (YRC) volunteer noticed
her state of severe psychological distress and requested permission from
the detention authority to have her released and brought to the Sana’a
Psychiatric Hospital. She then contacted IOM to support Amira’s
treatment as well as to provide her with regular psychosocial counseling
to expedite her recovery. After more than 2 years of hospitalization
and continuous counseling, Amira regained some of her memory as well as
remembered her identity. At IOM’s request, YRC traced her family, and on
9 December 2012, Amira was at last reunited with her family, after over
three years of separation. Overjoyed by her return and with tear-filled
exuberance, Amira’s family conveyed their thanks to the IOM and YRC
teams for their relentless efforts throughout the years to bring their
daughter home.
The Government of Yemen has recently formalized a National Technical
Committee for combating Trafficking in Persons (TIP) with the issuance
of a decree on 8/11/2012. This Committee has high-level representation
from a number of ministries and meets on a weekly basis. IOM
participated in its formation through support for consultations and
workshops, currently participates actively, and has been requested by
the committee to support the development of a national strategy to
combat human trafficking.
The future you want
“As the UN we hope that the national dialogue conference succeeds as
it is critical for the future of Yemen. We also hope to see a Yemen
where democracy is successful and where human rights for all men and
women is respected. I wish to say to all Yemenis, especially young
people, that the future of Yemen is up to you. You will determine what
kind of future you want and what kind of society you wish for your
daughters and sons to grow up in. Change might take time, but step by
step, you will find the future you are now developing evolving. During
that process, and as part of that future, all Yemenis need to take part
in some way. Yemen cannot afford to neglect the capacities, strengths,
inputs, ideas, visions and uniqueness of half its population. Women of
Yemen’s voice have to be heard,” says Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, United
Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen.
