War and the transformation of Yemeni women's social roles

A woman wearing a black hijab and face veil displays products at a fair organised to promote locally grown coffee in Sanaa, Yemen, 3 March 2024 — "Facing internal displacement or the loss of their husband's salary, some women have started their own small businesses, opening storefronts that sell beauty products, artwork and even chocolate," writes Sarah Al-Kbat (image: AFP via Getty Images)

The war in Yemen, which has been raging since 2014, has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises and cost many lives. Since the outbreak of war, many Yemeni women have taken full responsibility for supporting their families. For some, the prolonged conflict has opened up new career prospects.

By Sarah Al-Kbat

The war in Yemen, since the Houthis took control of Sana'a in September 2014, has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. In 2023, 21.6 million people still required some form of humanitarian assistance. The war also destroyed almost all of the country's infrastructure and has interrupted the payment of salaries to government sector employees.

Yet at the same time, this war has radically changed the societal role of women by expanding their professional opportunities. With 3 million Yemenis displaced in 2023, which includes a large number of widows of those killed in the war, many Yemeni women have taken full responsibility for supporting their families.

According to the World Bank, women's participation in the labour force reached 5.1 per cent compared with 60.4 per cent for men in 2023. While women's roles were previously limited to household chores and raising families, the pressures of war – including declining employment opportunities, reduced salaries, workplace insecurity and a lack of basic services, such as water and electricity – have pushed many Yemeni women to seek economic independence.

People displaced by conflict receive food aid donated by a Kuwaiti charity organisation in the village of Hays, near the conflict zone in Yemen's western province of Hodeida, 22 February 2021 — The war in Yemen, which has been going on for ten years now, has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. "In 2023, 21.6 million people still required some form of humanitarian assistance," writes Sarah Al-Kbat (image: AFP)

Women now working in traditionally male-dominated fields

In recent years, women have taken up work in a variety of traditionally male-dominated fields, from the agricultural sector and local trade to the industrial and service sectors, computer programming, and home renovation. Facing internal displacement or the loss of their husband's salary, some women have started their own small businesses, opening storefronts that sell beauty products, artwork and even chocolate.

New women's fashion and clothing enterprises have also popped up. Safaa Muhammad, a Yemeni woman with a bachelor's degree in banking and finance, founded Safi Abaya Stores. Before the war, Safaa was an employee at an aviation agency – a field that has been almost entirely cut off due to the war. In an interview with Sada, Safaa notes that she has had a talent for design since she was young, when she crafted her own clothes and outfits for family and friends on special occasions. Seeking financial independence and security for the future, Safaa invested her talent in this project and has achieved a great deal of success, reaching over 80,000 followers on her Facebook page.

Hanaa Al-Kabsi owns and manages Hue Studio, offering her photography services for weddings and private parties. Hanaa holds a bachelor's degree in programming and is proficient in graphic design, but lost her work when all her clients fled the country early in the war. In 2016, one of her relatives gave her a camera and suggested that she photograph weddings, building on her existing experience in photography and design. With a borrowed camera and a single assistant, Hanaa started photographing weddings – and has now become a distinguished professional in the field.

Yemen’s other war · 25.09.2022

Female politicians targeted on social media

With more than two hundred thousand followers on Facebook and about 54 thousand followers on Twitter, I am one of the most prominent Yemeni politicians on the ground and online. Yet not a day passes without me having to fight in the virtual world because I decided to have a voice. Activist Nora Al-Jarawi gives a personal account

Willpower and innovation

In 1999, Yemen passed a law to establish funding for the cleanliness and improvement of each of the country's cities. After years of war, there was no longer enough funding even to pay workers' salaries, and engineer Ertfaa Al-Qubati intervened to solve the cleanliness crisis in the city of Sana'a. To address the danger of the spread of diseases resulting from the accumulation of waste, this woman formed a small team of cleaners. She currently runs a centre to raise environmental awareness and is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Norwegian Organization for Justice and Peace.

Through a combination of willpower and innovation, many Yemeni women have managed to defy the difficulties of wartime and establish new professional ventures – reflecting their personal dedication as well as their ability to contribute to reconstruction efforts. Their work may also lay the foundation for long-term changes to the social status of women in Yemen: normalising the idea of financial independence, with its associated improvements in women's health, education and participation in the labour force, and advancing gender equality. With these women as an example, the next generation of Yemeni women will be well-prepared not only to face difficult personal and social circumstances, but also to challenge the inherited views of women's roles in society.

Sarah Al-Kbat

Sarah Al-Kbat is a journalist and fact-checker with a master's degree in media.