Since the beginning of the new millennium, drama in Yemen has witnessed a wave of retirement that included a large number of Yemeni actresses, the most recent of whom was Shaima Mohammad, who announced her withdrawal in February 2024 despite the fact that she appeared in a limited number of Yemeni series, and did not give any unique performance throughout her short artistic career. However, her retirement caused a huge uproar on social media platforms, and Shaima topped the “trend,” which makes us wonder whether the step down of Shaima, who came from the field of advertising, marketing and promotion, and no one knew her in the field of acting, was just a propaganda plot in order to regain the spotlight.

Despite the intention of actresses of the new generation to stir up controversy on social media platforms, retirement is not new in the history of Yemeni drama, as the Yemeni artistic scene witnessed a set of personal stances taken by some female artists, such as the disengagement of actress and singer; Latifa Al-Kawkabani, who called on females of her generation to resume their interest and passion to dramatic art in its various forms as quoted by the New Yemen magazine. Actress Zahraa Talib has also retired from theatrical art to devote herself to television work, and actress Madiha Al-Haidari retired from dramatic and theatrical work for health reasons at the end of her life, and so did actress Najiba Abdullah, who left acting in 1995, because she was busy raising her children, and she will return to it in the year 2013. In the same way, actress Fathia Ibrahim has previously announced her discontinuation in the local drama, due to the deteriorating state of TV drama in Yemen, but she revealed that she would be acting in Gulf TVs only. Therefore, the retirement of the older generation was far from provoking public attention, and took place for artistic and personal reasons, without causing any media hype.

The disengagement of actresses was not just a special case in Yemen, but rather a common issue in the artistic community, even if the reasons varied between personal and social, as is the case with actress Redha Al-Khader, who participated in many TV works, such as the movie “A New Day in Old Sanaa” which won many awards at several festivals.

In any case, I believe that the actresses of the older generation did not find a conflict between marriage and their passion of acting on TV or theater, and they did not condemn themselves religiously, as they were aware of the art of acting, its importance, and its value on the map of history, so that they did not care about customs and, inherited traditions and imposed religious discourse, and socialization. On the other hand, many actresses of the new generation found themselves in direct disagreement with marriage as the highest ambition in the life of Yemeni women. This may be attributed to the narrow social and traditional perception that sees the woman’s place as no more than the walls of her home, in order to exercise her role as a wife who serves the husband and caring for children. 

Marriage and Sincere Repentance

Actress Samah Al-Amrani was one of the actresses who caused the most public controversy by her sudden decision of retirement from the world of acting, after her marriage to a Yemeni young man abroad. She described Yemeni drama as a “swamp,” and she celebrated wearing the niqab and Jilbab. She confirmed that she made this decision out of her personal conviction and freedom, and that neither her husband or anyone else did force her to do so, according to her post on her Facebook page. It is worth noting that Samah Al-Amrani participated in some acting roles and presented a good number of characters that were popular locally, and had a good relationship with the artistic community. However, her announcement of retirement was violent towards her fellow actresses, as she was not satisfied with insulting the acting community, but rather she republished a post by one of the activists on Facebook, in which he attacks Yemeni actors and actresses, confirming that they drink alcohol and that actors harass actresses. 

It is ironic that the Yemeni director Waleed Al-Olafi, who directed the film “The Losing Bet”, which tackles the issue of extremism and terrorism, with the support of the Ministry of Interior in 2006, commented on Samah Al-Amrani’s post, saying: “God bless you Samah. Your words are precious thing. I hope they got them.”  After a wave of anger from social media pioneers, Al-Olafi came out with a clarification that he posted on his official Facebook account, in which he confirmed that his comment was not in support of her description of Yemeni drama as a swamp, but rather about Samah statement about the niqab and her being religious, and getting closer to God! Al-Olafi confirmed that he did not even notice her description of the Yemeni drama as a quagmire, and that his comment on her post was out of sympathy for her regarding the question of hundreds of her followers on social media about wearing jilbab and niqab.

The sudden disappearance of actresses

After the marriage of the Yemeni actress Adhari Al-Kilani, Al-Kilani not only disappeared from the Yemeni TV, but also vanished from public life, and her last photo was seen in the Gulf Twenty football championship, in the city of Aden in 2010. Adhari Al-Kilani, who starred in the Yemeni Drama series “Ashwaq and Thorns” and “Love and Revenge" and "Kini Mini", the actress captured the admiration of most Yemenis with her beauty, personality, and acting prowess, hadn’t been seen in a new drama role, or a page in social media, amid astonishment of her friends, or acquaintances. She vanished like a ghost without an official announcement of her decision to retire, and she is still missing despite the passage of a decade and a half. According to some sources of her neighbors in her place of residence in old city of Sanaa, they reported that her husband asked her to quit acting, and thus her artistic career ended shortly after her marriage.

The disengagement of actresses was not just a special case in Yemen, but rather a common issue in the artistic community, even if the reasons varied between personal and social, as is the case with actress Redha Al-Khader, who participated in many TV works, such as the movie “A New Day in Old Sanaa” which won many awards at several festivals. The movie was directed by the Yemeni-British Badr Bin Hirsi, and the series “Kini Mini.” Parts one, two and three (2005, 2006, 2007), and the series “Love and Revenge” 2007.

However, at the height of her artistic success, she disappeared from all local dramatic participations, Arab festivals, and means of communication, especially after the success of the movie “A New Day in Old Sana’a,” which was the first attempt at making Yemeni movie, and in which Sahar Al-Asbahi acted along with the actor Nabil Saber and actor Paolo Romano. Despite the harassment the film faced from the people of the area after the film script was leaked, as they threw stones at the film crew, and a fanatical group stormed the filming site to stop filming, the crew resorted to place soldiers to guard the shooting location. Nonetheless, the fate of actress Redha Al-Khader was more unjust and unfair.

Ahmed Al-Khader (a pseudonym), a relative of the actress Al-Khader, said in a statement to Khuyut that: “Ridha Al-Khader became very famous after her film “A New Day in Old Sana’a,” as her name gain unexpected fame at international festivals, especially since the film’s director was British, and the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival but she later, she got married in 2008 and traveled outside Yemen. Although she received offers for new acting roles, including in a joint documentary film outside Yemen, the restrictions of marriage put an end to her acting career, as her husband did not allow her to take part in any acting scene, whether Arab or local so she was even disappeared from any social media platform.” 

Artistic history records many Yemeni actresses who acted limited or single acts in local films and drama series and that most of them performed with sincerity and high quality, and they embodied the character within the limits of the roles assigned to them. However, marriage was the major challenge in the career of Yemeni actresses. When the Yemeni actress appears in a Ramadan TV series, becomes famous, and tops the trend on social media, she shortly disappears from the artistic scene. Despite the differences in the experiences of Yemeni actresses, the fate of the ending seems identical or almost the same, as they withdraw from acting after a short period of time.

As for the actress Mona Al-Asbahi, a well-known and brilliant Yemeni actress, who appeared in a few works on television, such as: “Ashwaq and Thorns,” “Kini Mini,” and “Minna Fina,” and she participated in the movie “The Losing Bet.”, she retired from acting in 2010, after her marriage and the birth of two daughters. Likewise did actress Maha Al-Hajj, who began her acting career through the operetta “Building a Nation.” As she was also a fashion and makeup designer, and participated in the series “Before It’s too late,” “Every Day is a Story,” and “Al-Hikma Neighborhood.” In addition, the Yemeni-Lebanese actress Dania Enas was also disappeared, after a single acting role in the movie "A New Day in Old Sanaa".

Artistic retirement... low quality and lobbying

Sarab Adel was considered one of the most prominent young Yemeni actresses whose fame shone at the beginning of the new millennium, as she enriched the Yemeni drama with a large group of works, such as the series “The Lost,” “The Evil of the Tragedy” in 2005 and 2006, and “The Will” and “Al-Hikma Neighborhood,” and she participated in some other Arabic countries' drama such as the Jordanian series “The Widow” and the Syrian-Yemeni series “Saif Bin Dhi Yazan”. Unfortunately, her appearance in the second decade of the millennium was declined on television and the media. According to close sources, since her departure from Yemen, Sarab Adel has not found an appropriate scenario for the character she is looking for, in addition to the lobbying of some individuals, who control the Yemeni artistic community, which prompted her to retire from the acting scene without announcing her withdrawal. In 2017, she returned to TV through the series "Al Jamrah", which was successful series in local productions in 2017, and then disappeared again.

Women in Houthi-controlled areas suffer of the worst conditions, as they are exposed to violence, exclusion, discrimination, and harassment, as happened with the young model Intisar Al-Hammadi, who joined the world of acting in Ramadan 2020, and starred in two Yemeni television series, “Al-Ghareeb Dam” and “Ghurba Al-Bon.”, she is considered one of the youngest actress, but her acting career was shorter than expected as she was kidnapped.

In contrast to the retirement and disappearance of these female Yemeni stars, the dramatic scene witnessed the return of some others who retired during the same period, including actress Mona Al-Asbahi, who left acting for a full decade; as she said in an interview on the Yemen Today TV channel: “When I left, there was a conflict that started in the artistic community between some colleagues. When I received a job offer, I found that the acting level of the character was decreasing, meaning that we agreed on a character, but after three episodes, the character began to decline and fail, and then the character completely disappeared. Therefore, I felt that I was starting to burn myself out, so I traveled abroad to discover myself. I studied and learned, but it happened that I got married, so I discontinued.” Years later, actress Mona Al-Asbahi contacted director Fadhel Al-Olafi to congratulate him on the success of the drama series “Al-Dalal,” and they ended up coordinating a joint work. Accordingly, Mona returned to acting in 2021 through the series “Behind the Sun.”

Intimidating actresses

Yemeni actresses face countless challenges, including the inferiority view of society, which does not respect the actress, and praises the actress who chose to marry and leave acting, as it is a condition of chastity and purity. Therefore, actresses are attacked on social media, and guardianship is exercised over them, as in the case of actress Hadeel Mane’, who traveled to Egypt and appeared dressed up without a hijab, and since that time the attacks on her have not ceased.

In addition to the disrespect for Yemeni actresses, women in general under Houthi-controlled areas live in the worst conditions, as they are exposed to violence, exclusion, discrimination, and abuse, as happened with the young female model Intisar Al-Hammadi, who joined the world of acting in Ramadan 2020, and acted in two Yemeni television series, namely: “Al-Ghareeb Dam” and “Ghurba Al Bon”. Although she is considered the youngest actress, her acting career was shorter than expected, as the Houthi authorities kidnapped Intisar Al-Hammadi from a street in Sanaa in broad daylight, and concealed her in torture cellars without a public trial. According to the testimony of parliamentarians, judges, and journalists, the Houthi group asked her and her colleague actress to join a prostitution cell and an organized spy network, to set up surveillance cameras to blackmail some political opponents! But when they refused, they framed them with various accusations. Then the Houthis' allegations developed into an accusation against Intisar's honor, and despite the outcry of the Houthis and those like them that the best place for a woman is her home, no one shows concern for the destiny of Intisar Al-Hammadi, who has been detained in prison for two years. Thus, it seems that the disappearance and retirement of Yemeni actresses, whatever the circumstances of that retirement, whether private or general, forced or voluntary, have all the reasons for it in Yemen.

‍