Yemeni women have been through many events and challenges that have occurred in their lives and have recently increased since the outbreak of the war in Yemen. Women also face many obstacles and psychological trauma as a result of their inability to adapt and accept all the harsh conditions they have gone through due to losing a father or husband, moving and displacement from one city to another, or facing poverty and lack of basic services.
In addition, woman became vulnerable to many psychological and behavioral disorders that caused her many traumas and mental illnesses; as woman is a delicate, sensitive and very weak human being when faced with the shocks that affect her and make a big change in her life.
Although women struggle in their society and undertake many responsibilities inside and outside the home, they are always subjected to many unfair accusations and criticisms.
According to a questionnaire conducted by "Khuyut", which targeted a number of women; the majority of them, with a percentage of 79.9%, believe that some in society, especially family members, do not appreciate their psychological pain and do not pay any attention to it, and sometimes consider it a form of exaggeration. The war in the country has not spared anyone from psychological pressures let alone the plenty of women in Yemen who have been subjected to violations, attacks and displacement.
In view of all these harsh conditions that affected women, it was hard to accurately describe the woman’s suffering, her weak mental health when suffering and bearing the heavy burdens of life, so her psychological disorders left some visible signs on their bodies that were difficult to diagnose by doctors.
Insecurity
Many women suffer from psychological disorders; due to their excessive emotionality, and their overlapping feelings when they hit by shocks and setbacks; As the World Health Organization reported in its 2020 report, one tenth of the world's population suffers from mental disorders. Mental Disorders means “an organic condition resulting from a defect in chemicals in the brain called “neural signal conductors”, and this defect causes a number of negative feelings that make a person unable to practice normal daily activities, and it also causes her to have a disturbance in heer basic functions. like thinking or behavior.
Mental health problems are among the top five major causes of non-communicable diseases, as they lead to significant disability and incur severe economic and social costs, and grief which plays a major impact on an individual's health.
The report of the World Health Organization confirms that one out of every five people in the world is at risk of developing mental disorders that lead to suicide, and the report tops the Arab countries where wars and conflicts intensify, such as Yemen as a result of the exacerbation of violence, lack of stability and insecurity, and the lack of legalization of violations. Additionally, women in particular are one of the most affected vulnerable groups as a result of the risks they are exposed to. Moreover, the report states that four out of five people with mental illness are women, and this negatively affects all aspects of their lives.
Despite the extent of danger caused by psychological crises, some women refrain from resorting to psychological treatment or consulting a psychiatrist for fear of the reaction and accusation of insanity, ridicule, mockery and weakness in faith and personality, at a rate of 57.9%, according to the questionnaire conducted by "Khuyut". It included a group of women whose age does not exceed 40 years, while 23% do not mind going to psychiatric clinics for consultation.
As for the rest, 19.1%, they justify their refrain from going to a psychiatrist when feeling depressed, as a result of the high costs of psychological sessions, especially with the deteriorating of the economic conditions and the lack of specialized centers for psychological treatment in Yemen.
In the same context, novelist Reem Tawfik told "Khuyut" that she went through difficult psychological conditions because of the war, and despite thinking about visiting a psychiatrist, she did not go; because she recovered by writing, but sometimes she resorts to counseling without undergoing psychological sessions.
And she adds, "sometimes we cannot stand on our feet without help, when life becomes dark and overcast, we are unable to see the beautiful face of life, so we have to resort to psychiatry, because the soul, like the body, also needs a treatment."
Hormonal changes
Medical and public health studies indicate that mental depression causes 40% of other psychological problems, and it increases significantly as a result of economic burdens, as is the case in developing countries such as Yemen, especially among women.
This is due to severe psychological stress, anxiety and tension; which decreases women ability to think, as psychological stress affects brain health later in life, whereas depression and anxiety disorders contribute to more than half of all years lost attributable to psychological problems.
Dr. Muhammad Abdul-Razzaq, a psychologist, told "Khuyut" that the female hormonal changes women that occur monthly or before menopause cause many psychological disorders and even changes in feelings, such as despair, depressed mood, anger, poor concentration and low energy. As a result, women feel lonely and unable to express their feelings openly; so the family should stand by them.
He points out that the hormonal changes that occur in women before menstruation increase depression, which is "a physiological monthly situation for every woman which affects mental health but in different extent from one woman to another."
Dr. Mohammad continues, that changes in the menstrual cycle increase the risk of developing depressive disorder, according to a medical study, by 2 to 10%; therefore, he stresses the need for the husband to understand the psychological changes accompanying the pregnancy period which is more complex and causes women to have many psychological and physical variations. Consequently, woman will need to get psychological support in gratitude for her dedication and their role in life so that the problem does not worsen, and thus lead to postpartum depression.
Ignorance and lack of awareness
Aisha did not realize that she would live a miserable life and pass through consecutive pains after she refused to marry one of the sons of her village without justification. She insisted on her decision of rejecting that marriage.
Her family, who lives in one of the rural areas of Sana'a Governorate thought that she may be suffering from (witchcraft) that prevents her from marrying. Therefore, they took her to one of the "witches" in the village who claims to be able to cure such diseases while he is not really capable of treating them.
This man who works in the field of witchcraft and sorcery took advantage of the ignorance of Aisha's family for three years during which the young woman was subjected to the worst types of treatment by this charlatan which include disfigure her body, physical beatings, herbs for treatment and various mixtures but in vein. This alleged treatment aggravated the daughter psychological and physical case nd caused her family material, moral and social damage, frustrations and pressures that made them leave the village and move to the city.
"Khuyut" learned about this girl's story through a visit to one of the specialized psychological treatment centers, as she went through a difficult psychological crisis. As a result, she was referred by a doctor in the capital, Sanaa to a psychological treatment center to receive appropriate treatment and rehabilitation. After medical checkup, it turned out that she suffers from a simple psychological disorder called Gamophobia, which is an intense fear of romantic commitment or marriage, and it may sometimes lead to huge panic attacks similar to bouts of fear of death.
A psychiatrist told "Khuyut", that this disease usually affects men in a greater proportion, but there are girls who suffer from it as a result of harmful experiences in childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse, and it may be the result of being exposed to family violence, "psychological trauma in childhood" that appears in old age.
Aisha, like hundreds of girls and women who have been subjected to psychological disorders. However, resorting to witchcraft has become alarmingly popular in many Yemeni villages and cities due to the scourge of ignorance and lack of awareness of mental health, which has pushed them into the abyss due to the delay in treatment.
Self-safety
Mental health is "a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community", according to the World Health Organization
Saadia al-Awlaki, a psychiatrist, said in an interview with "Khuyut", that mental health is a state of complete feeling of happiness or physical, mental and social comfort, and not merely the absence of disease and the absence of disability and weakness.
She added that it represents our compatibility and satisfaction with ourselves and everything around us, and our ability to be more flexible so that we can solve any problem we face, and be able to get out of it with the least possible losses. Mental health, according to the psychiatrist, means that we are more aware of all our actions and behaviors resulting from the situations we encounter in our daily lives.
Moreover, mental health may change over time due to psychological problems that often result from social crises, work troubles, wars and conflicts that affect the roles and jobs we perform.
Additionally, mental health has also become a term far from a woman’s lexicon, despite her great need for it, which is embodied in the goals of awareness and counseling initiatives that have emerged recently to promote a culture of mental health through the Advisory Center of the Psychological Counseling. But the problem is that many women with psychological problems refuse to receive treatment or admit they need to.
In conclusion, Mental health is linked to many factors, such as good physical health, better educational achievement, increased job opportunities, productivity, and improved skills for the individual which makes improving mental health everyone's responsibility.
