Day after day, the suffering of the Muhamasheen group in Yemen is exacerbating as a result of the ongoing war in the country for eight years, in light of the lack of health care and the deterioration of economic and living conditions, which makes them more downgraded. Those dark skin group live in scattered dwellings built of straw and tin and in dilapidated camps that do not protect them from the summer heat or the winter cold, and they are exposed to various diseases and epidemics.
Many marginalized women lack reproductive health care and follow-up with doctors, especially during pregnancy for many reasons, such as poverty, lack of access to support, and the deterioration of government health facilities during the war which made them face epidemics and fatal diseases which may lead to death.
Misk Abdullah, a woman in her fifties, who is one of the marginalized women in the rural areas of Al-Ma’afer district (southern Taiz governorate), told Khuyut: “We are the (blacks) group - the Muhamasheen - our condition is deplorable, as we are exposed to the serious diseases and risks, and we cannot obtain medications or tolerate the cost of the hospitalization, sometimes before death, because we do not have “money,” due to our poor living conditions".
The Key Challenge
Were you marginalized or otherwise, you are a human being, and the Yemeni constitution has guaranteed the rights of all Yemenis without discrimination. You often need money for health and life saving, and if you do not have it, you are among the dead, like Misk's sister who died two days after she went into labor during childbirth.
This is confirmed by Misk, in her interview with "Khuyut", when she said: "My sister died after two days of obstructed labour and continuous bleeding, because we could not pay the costs of giving birth in the hospital, as her husband is unemployed and does not have money." She is like many other marginalized women who face severe torment, leading to death at home during childbirth, because there is no money to cover the costs of hospital treatment.
The absence of health care is not the only factor behind the suffering of the Muhamasheen, but rather the general situation of their lifestyle, whether at the residential or environmental aspects, in the neighborhoods and communities in which this group lives, which leads to the spread of many infectious diseases.
In this context, the head of the Nahdhat Shabab Organization for the Development of the Muhamasheen, Akram Al-Shara'abi, told Khuyut: "The lack of health care that Muhamasheen women are exposed to, especially during pregnancy, childbirth, reproductive health and family planning, is one of the biggest problems that the Muhamasheen community suffers from."
Al-Shara'abi added that the lack of free health facilities for the Muhamasheen has exacerbated their suffering, as they are unable to buy medicine, as they are among the most vulnerable and poor groups in society. Sometimes the illness or infection multiplies, putting their lives at risk, especially for women who lack the most basic health services.
Deprivation and spread of diseases
The Muhamasheen in Yemen believe that they are deprived of everything, not only in access to health care, but even the social perception that views the Muhamasheen as inferior people nd does not believe in the rights of groups and minorities, as they have been marginalized in housing, receiving aid, work, etc., even vaccinations, according to their statements.
Mariam Muhammad, 35, told "Khuyut": "We are marginalized and deprived of health care, work, and assistance, even access to free vaccines that we rarely get. Our children get sick until they recover without being able to treat them. In the end, we are" servants. “(Marginalized) no one pays attention to us.”
Yemen suffers of one of the world's deepest and most entrenched humanitarian crises, with prolonged conflict, economic collapse, soaring food prices, and deteriorating health services.
In turn, Noman Al-Hudhaifi - Head of the National Union of the Muhamasheen and President of the National Council for Minorities, told "Khuyut" that the absence of health care is not the only factor limited to the Muhamasheen, but rather the general living situation, whether on the residential or environmental aspects in the neighborhoods and communities in which these people live. This leads to the spread of many infectious diseases, as the health condition of the Muhamasheen is very poor, as he describes it.
A report issued by the United Nations Population Fund in April 2023, seen by Khuyut, confirms that basic health care is not widely available, explaining that about 5.5 million women and girls of childbearing age in Yemen have limited or no access to Reproductive Health services.
Further, the UN Fund report reveals that a woman dies in Yemen every two hours during pregnancy and childbirth due to delay or lack of access to health care and necessary services in a timely manner. This is among the highest rates in the region, which is quite shocking considering how this rate can be reduced through access to proper health services.
