(MENAFN- Morocco World News) New Delhi – In recent times, women encountered gigantic obstacles to be treated on an equal footing with men. There is still a quarter century, inequalities were also widespread: at university, at work and even in home.
Since then, the status of women has significantly improved in many respects throughout the world. In most countries, the rich or developing countries, girls and women are more educated, live longer, have better jobs and gain rights. But strong inequalities remain. The risk mortality rate is higher in many low and middle-income countries. They earn less and are less productive almost everywhere in the world and have no opportunity to decide their fate.
According to the development World: Gender Equality and Published Development by the World Bank in 2012, the elimination disparities is important for the development and the evolution of society. More equality can boost productivity, improve the development of the young and make institutions and policies more representative.
Many inequalities remain, even as countries develop, calls authorities for sustained and precise action, corrective policies will have more impact on the development and will target the greatest serious inequalities. To be effective, they must tackle the root causes of inequalities without the abstraction of the political economy.
In Yemen, discrimination and violence against women are endemic, and have destructive consequences. Women's rights are regularly bounded and that is due to Yemeni tribal practices along with their deaf legislation. These customs Yemenis have, classified women as a lower rank in society and therefore making them an easy target.
Yemeni women are not free to marry whomever they want. Some of these girls are yet children, sometimes only nine years old, when they are forced to marry. When a wife is forced into marriage so young, she must follow her husband's orders and even obtain his authorization for every little thing including leaving the premise.
Even before a judge, the testimony of a woman is worth half as much as that of a man; the allowance received by the family of a murder victim varies from simple to double in the case of a woman or of a man. Equality of treatment does not happen in inheritance; women often find themselves deprived of all the right to succession.
Women accused of 'immoral' acts are punished more severely than the men, and the latter are entitled to indulgence when they kill women from their family for questions of 'honor'. These laws and practices are purely discriminatory and encourage violence against women. These are currently common within families and the whole of society.
However, women's rights have recorded some progress these years, with, for example, the establishment of the Commission in 1996 National Women's Forum, a quasi-Government, along with the appointment of the secretary of State for Human Rights in 2001 which moved to the statute of minister. (National Women's Forum)
In addition, the government has a dialogue with intergovernmental organizations and reports to the UN Committee that is responsible for ensuring the application of the convention that focuses on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.
Underage Marriage
In Yemen, particularly in the early marriage of underage woman is a common practice; the girls are generally younger than the boys when they are married. Number of them is leaving schools. They are likely to become pregnant and to give birth very young, thus putting their health and that of their child in danger. Deprived of complete schooling, they become completely dependent on their husbands, both financially and socially.
Local NGOs told Amnesty that often, girls are forced to marry men that are much older than them, especially the girls who are still attending school; these marriages are frequently accompanied by domestic violence. (Amnesty International 1)
Parents living in disadvantaged conditions in rural areas often marry their daughters when they are all young because they see them as a burden to the household. The wedding is accompanied by a dowry (mahar) intended for the bride, but often taken entirely or in part by the father.
In addition, we often see that weddings are a mean of protecting 'honor'
of the family: girls cannot be suspected of 'Immoral 'behavior and their virginity on the day of wedding must be guaranteed. There are no reliable statistics on this type of marriage in Yemen, because Births and marriages in rural areas are far from being subject to systematic registration.
Originally, section 15 of the personal status prohibited the marriage of girls under fifteen. However, this provision was amended in the Act No. 24 of 1999, which abolishes the age limit legalization of the marriage of girls less than 15 years provided that the tutor consented to the marriage and the daughter must have reached the age of puberty,
The attention sparked by the small Nojoud and other cases of early marriages that have given new impetus. The campaign led by the Commission the National Women's and NGO's that stresses and pushes for the legal age to be increased to eighteen years. In February 2009, a law was passed by the parliament trying to get the legal age of marriage to seventeen. Although it is not yet applicable due to the fact that the president has not ratified it.
The government initially tried endorsing the age being at 17 and modifying article 15 of the personal status law in Yemen. However, the Shari'a Committee in parliament has opposed its modification and as of August 2011, ratification by parliament is still pending. (UN women)
Nadya Khalife expressed clearly that 'Yemen's political crisis has left issues such as child marriage at the bottom of the political priority list,' women's rights researcher for the Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch. 'But now is the time to move on this issue, setting the minimum age for marriage at 18, to ensure that girls and women who played a major role in Yemen's protest movement will also contribute to shaping Yemen's future.' (OnIslam)
Holistically speaking, Yemen has finally realized that there is a correlation between these customs and the social norms, which is important for the protection of these categories that are at risk early on from the prospect of a lifetime of abuse.
However, such an approach demands that the health, education and justice systems are adequately resourced financially, and that each actor knows their role in ensuring the law is effectively implemented and girls are properly educated about their rights.
Gender based violence
In Yemen, there exist absolutely no law that prohibits gender-based violence. We all know rape is a crime, which is the case also under Yemeni law, but marital rape is not considered rape. Yet, it comes under domestic violence. When it comes to Honor killings, the judicial branch is quite lenient towards men, which make crime as such spread even more. The penal code also includes other discriminatory provisions: article 273 criminalizes 'shameful' or 'immoral' acts. This law makes women vulnerable to arrest for reasons such as being alone with a man who is not her relative. (Unicef)
Female genital mutilation
This is quite scandalous in societies in the 21st century. Yemen holds the 2nd position in the Middle East for the highest percentage of female genital mutilation. There exists no law against female genital mutilation in Yemen. But it is still a tradition carried on by most traditional families.
A ministerial decree prohibits FGM to be carried out in health facilities. According to 1997 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) statistics, 23 per cent of women aged 15-49 have undergone FGM/C. FGM/C is most common in the coastal region where it is prevalent at 69 per cent. (Unicef) This is a tradition that is deeply rooted in Yemen; the idea behind it is limiting a girl's pleasure from a young age. And that showcases their perception of physical contact of a girl as shameful or a question of honor, so they have to limit it from a young age.
Women 's political participation
There have been efforts to include women within the judicial system. Which has them to the enrollment of women in the judicial institute to later become judges and serve. Since 1990's, there were 34 women judges, very much so outnumbered by men 8 times. According to the 2007 State party CEDAW report, there are 32 female judges, compared to 1200 male judges. The 2007 NGO shadow CEDAW report notes, however, that these women all became judges before the unification in 1990, in South Yemen. (Cedaw)
When Yemen was divided into north and south Yemen. The systems differed, North Yemeni women fought for the right to vote by 1983 whereas south Yemeni women gained it by 1970's. Although written in legal documents, men and women share equal rights, It is not yet applicable, women have little to no say in politics, let alone have a political role or life. There is only one woman (out of 301 seats) in the lower house of parliament and two in the upper house (out of 111 seats). (Cedaw)
Police Protection
A 2003 country reports argued that spousal abuse is rarely reported to police, although it is common, and that is due to the social norm that puts a male relative to be the one to report to in such incidents. He is believed to provide protection. (25 Feb. 2004, section 5).
However, women victims of violence tend to not report such incidents because they are scared that the attacker will come after them (Yemen Times 17-21 July 2000). According to an article in the Yemen Times, even doctors rarely report cases of assault. Assaults reported to the police rarely receive priority attention, especially when the assailant is a family member.
A psychology professor at the University of Sana'a conducted a study in 1999 on police responses to assaults against women. The professor found that some policemen were incompetent and neglectful, while others failed to be preoccupied, but ended by assaulting the victim sexually instead of protecting him. The professor felt that the absence of legislative measures on spousal violence left too much to the discretion of the police.
According to a report by the Supreme Council for Women's Affairs of the Republic of Yemen, protection and security services for women victims of violence in Yemen were 'inadequate and inappropriate' (Yemen supreme court). A United Nations report adopted a similar position arguing that measures to combat spousal abuse were inadequate and that the State should offer better protection to victims (12 Dec. 2003).
Non-governmental activities
According to Country Reports 2003, there are couples of shelters for abused women, one in Aden and Sana'a. However, the source does not mention whether the government or the NGO offers these services. In its 2003 report, Amnesty International reported that Yemen has a very active women's movement, which has been seen during the protests. (Amnesty international)
Current Status of Women
According to Amnesty International's 2003 report, Yemen did not sign the optional protocol of CEDAW. The situation of Yemeni women is even worse than before the uprising against President Ali Abdullah Saleh because of the worsening of the humanitarian crisis, Oxfam warned. 'Four out of five women say their situation has deteriorated in the last 12 months,' the British organization said in a report, which was the fruit of meetings with a range of women across the country.
'Although the transition to democracy is underway, women's hopes for a better life are dwindling,' the report said, adding, 'The humanitarian crisis and the worsening conflict limits the role of women in the development of the future of Yemen '. (Oxfam 9)
According to the text, 'the humanitarian crisis exacerbates gender inequalities', and one-quarter of Yemeni women aged 15-49 say that 'access to food, employment and security' is at the top of the list. Women use 'desperate and destructive means' to feed their families, reducing 'their own consumption and nutrient intake,' the report says.
In some extreme cases, women have even been forced into prostitution, according to Oxfam.
The organization stresses that the unrest and persistent insecurity in the country 'exposes women to violence and puts their security at risk'. Oxfam is calling on donors to 'immediately allocate' the funds promised in Yemen, on the brink of economic collapse. Yemen received $ 6.4 billion in aid pledges at a donors' conference in Ryad, when it claimed almost twice as much. This amount includes the four billion pledges announced at the Friends of Yemen club meeting held in late May in Ryad, including $ 3.25 billion from Saudi Arabia. (Oxfam)
Yemen has undergone numerous changes in terms of gender equality, it has tried to change its laws and amend others. Allowed NGOs to help and assist in dealing with this matter. However, it still has a long way to go because until mentalities change, the same thing will occur and the misrepresentation and mistreatment of women will persist.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent any institution or entity.
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