The rate of violations against marginalized men and women has increased in various Yemeni governorates due to the destabilization of the security, judicial conditions and deterioration of morals with the continuation of the conflict in Yemen since 2015.
The violations rate has increased intensely during the last three years, as cases of sexual abuses and exploitation were reported against marginalized girls in the city of Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognized government, like other areas and governorates in the country.
The child Maha Modhesh, 14 years old, is one of the victims of these sexual abuses that took place in the city of Aden, where she was kidnapped, raped, and murdered in mid-November 2022. She was found dismembered inside the perpetrator's house next to her family's residence in Al-Shoula neighborhood, Al-Tawahi District, in the center of Aden.
Maha's case was the only incident in years that has reached the judiciary and has been decided, while many cases of this kind are still pending or have been covered up and have not appeared to public opinion, not only in Aden but in various Yemeni governorates.
On this context, Abdullah Al-Saqqaf, head of the Social Coexistence Foundation in Aden, attributed in a statement to “Khuyut” that the reasons for marginalized women being exposed to serious violations and sexual harassment of all kinds, especially female daily wage workers in the homes of some families, to displacement and the deterioration of the current economic situation and its consequences on the less fortunate groups, according to him, as well as the absence of security and legal protection.
Exploitation and abuses
The internal displacement drive due to the war that has erupted since 2014, has doubled the cases of sexual exploitation of marginalized women, as they are the most vulnerable group in society, and whose livelihood has been deepened and exacerbated to the lowest extent by the wide economic division between Sana'a and Aden authorities.
Hadeel, “Khuyut” keeps her full name undisclosed at her request, is a community activist. She says that there is a disparity in the status of the marginal community between commitment and openness.
She added that: "Here in Aden and Lahj, even on their wedding occasions, there is mixing and openness, but their homes cannot provide any privacy for such events that they hold, because they are open homes that some people exploit in a bad way and carry out heinous practices, including assaulting minors and young marginalized women.
An official in the National Union of the Poorest Groups, “Marginalized”: We were represented by one person in the National Dialogue Conference, while our population is more than three million people. On the other hand, some political parties, such as the Salafist Rashad Party, participated with more than 5 representatives, in spite that their number did not exceed two thousand members.
There is also exploitation of marginalized beggars on the streets in some districts of Aden and Lahj, according to Hadeel’s words: “I saw some marginalized girls getting into the cars of harassers who intentionally stopped their vehicles next to them and invited them to get in, while others got out in similar situations, but I believe that all of these misconducts occur in exchange for money due to the deterioration of living conditions.”
The black-skinned community's condemnation of such practices against marginalized women remains limited, which is the prevailing situation in Yemeni society in general, with some practices emerging due to deteriorating living conditions. Some people resort to temporary marriage to marginalized women, because it does not require a dowry and other costs, while displacement has doubled such exploitation with the expansion and spread of temporary relations in recent years.
Moreover, Hadeel confirmed that those who commit such practices see it as an easy way that does not require a dowry or regular expenses, and the marginalized usually provide everything. She pointed out that social outcasts also exploit marginalized women, but this marriage in the end is an exploitation of the poverty of marginalized women, so it does not last long, as they are often divorced, separated, and disposed of in an inhumane manner after a short period.
Activists and human rights advocates confirm that there are a number of camps that have spread during the recent period, including two camps in Lahj Governorate for widowed women in general, including marginalized women. Reports also pointed out that these camps represent hotbeds for sexual exploitation in exchange for money. Meanwhile, Hadeel also revealed that the authorities banned night visits after discovering a case of a man exploiting a woman in Al-Duba camp in Hotat Lahj, where he claimed that she was his sister while he was exploiting her sexually.
For his part, human rights activist Adel Faraj Mabrook, a member of the executive office for the education and youth sector in the National Union for the Development of the Poorest “Marginalized” Groups in Yemen, told Khuyut that the high movement of marginalized women to Aden and Lahj, amid a complex living situation, forced them to beg, especially those families who do not find shelter or a suitable and safe environment to settle in, which exposed them to harassment and sexual exploitation.
The authorities’ failure to protect the marginalized
Mabrook confirmed to Khuyut that the authorities in Aden are turning a blind eye to the growing phenomenon of hatred against the marginalized among the host community, considering them a voiceless minority, as they were subjected to forced displacement in Jabal al-Faras in Crater, and marginalized women were subjected to abuse and humiliating, inhuman practices.
A recently issued report by the American Center for Justice, reviewed by Khuyut, reveals crimes of mass displacement, storming, and burning of the homes of marginalized people in the Crater District in Aden, at the hands of armed factions that the Center said were affiliated with the Southern Transitional Council. The report documented that 200 families residing in the Persian Mountain were subjected to various violations during the period from 2 to 12 October 2021, including arrests, raids, destruction and burning of homes, and forced displacement. The center also monitored about 12 cases of burning, destruction, and comprehensive demolition of homes, and the displacement of 20 IDP families from their homes at gunpoint, who were displaced for the second or third time.
Mabrook stressed that the authority and society do not respect the rights of the marginalized in general, and do not recognize their entitlments, and that accusing marginalized women of trading in prohibited items is one of the most prominent reasons for the high rate of violence and exploitation against them.
Social media platforms played a prominent role in supporting many cases of violations in Yemen in general and some issues of marginalized people in particular. It also contributed to the formation of public opinion that was able to create positive impact and achieving justice, such as the case of the child “Maha,” whose case was advocated under the hashtag “Tawahi Girl.”
Regarding the absence of laws and rights, Mabrook said: “The Yemeni law theoretically does not differentiate between equal citizenship rights, but these laws are not applied in practice. Yemeni society is tribal par excellence, and has a social hierarchy in which we are at the bottom of the ladder and this is the tradition that governs the citizenship relationship in Yemen.”
He believes that the marginalized group is a national minority in terms of quantity, and a weak and deprived group whose interests must be met in accordance with the Yemeni Constitution, applicable laws, and the principle of (Affirmative action) in human rights.
Shortcomings and possible remedies
The discrimination to which marginalized people are exposed has reached the political level, social representation, and participation in the National Dialogue Conference held in 2013, while they are not represented in various political events, conferences, and various national dialogues.
Adel Mabrook confirmed to Khuyut: “We were represented by one person in the National Dialogue Conference, while we are more than three million people, while some political parties, such as the Salafist Al-Rashad Party, participated with more than five representatives, while their number does not exceed two thousand members.
In addition, the demands of the marginalized to obtain 10% in decision-making positions and public institutions were rejected despite the proposal presented by the Committee on Rights and Liberties at the National Dialogue Conference, but it was not reflected in the draft of the new constitution at the time.
Regarding solutions to reduce violence and ensure a minimum decent life for the marginalized, the member of the National Union for the Development of the Poorest Groups, “the marginalized,” recommended the necessity of adopting a number of steps including; pressure at the level of external parties to enhance the rights of the marginalized, developing sufficient legislation to protect the marginalized from discrimination and exploitation, establishing social insurance programs, improving public and political participation in addition to land ownership, improving wages for marginalized workers, spreading human rights awareness in order to reducing the exclusion of marginalized leaders and the begging of marginalized women and children.
What about the digital space?
Social media platforms played a prominent role in supporting many cases of violations in Yemen in general and some issues of marginalized people in particular. It also contributed to the formation of public opinion that was able to create positive impact and achieving justice, such as the case of the child “Maha,” whose case was advocated under the hashtag “Tawahi Girl.”
Lawyer and jurist Abdul Rahman Barman, head of the American Center for Justice, points out to Khuyut that there are pros and cons to social media platforms in supporting violation cases. However, it constituted the most important line of defense for marginalized women in Yemen in light of the absence of law enforcement institutions, and the deterioration of the judicial and security conditions due to the war in the country, as this contributed to a significant increase in the cycle of violations against marginalized women in various Yemeni regions.
According to Berman, the digital space has played a role in highlighting these practices and violations, confronting and disseminating them, and also forming a deterrent against those who abuse marginalized women when they see what happened to a person who committed such violation against the rights of their marginalized person. These platforms also played an important role in putting pressure on the security and the judiciary authorities in order to arrest violators and bring them to trial.
On the other hand, Berman believes that there is a negative role for social media regarding similar cases that are sometimes circulated with a kind of exaggeration and defamation of reputation, in addition to moral harm to the victims, such as publishing pictures of female victims, and sometimes their names and families are published, and this causes great moral harm to them.
He concluded his speech by saying that these platforms are often dominated by haste and emotional judgments by their users, and this harms many people who have nothing to do with these crimes. Berman reinforced this statement with a story about a person who was accused in a marginalized rape case in Taiz while the truth is that, he was outside the country and the real criminal was one of his relatives. Therefore, there must be rationalization of the activity of digital space and ensuring the accuracy of information in light of this huge flow into cyberspace.
