Yemen: Abuse and Violence against Women
Last year, I read several articles and reports on how women are mistreated here; some of the articles go as far as stating that most women (as many as 70%), in Yemen, are abused. Some of the articles too, state that most women here are illiterate or are not allowed to get education.
The articles simply generalized Yemen. They bunched all of Yemen, together. I wanted to write an article in reply to those reports, then. Because, as I see it and as I observe all around me, the condition of women is not as those reports and articles state. First - let me give a brief definition of 'abuse':
Of all the countries and places I have been in, it's most rare for women to be abused here. As I pointed out in one of my earliest posts over two years ago:..... it is the girls and women who play the most central role and are actually the moving forces behind most families. It is the women who are the main and central foundation of families. Whatever men do, it is always the girls and women of the family - who are uppermost in their considerations and minds. The well being and dignity of the women is always considered first and foremost, before most big decisions would be made or undertaken. In all my years here, I have never seen or noticed a man shouting at a woman or in any way hurting a woman in public; all differences or arguments with women, are done as privately and as quietly as possible. And that's how it still is.
Whenever too, I visit relatives and friends in other parts of Yemen - I do not see or notice the kind of general abuse that those articles reported. To the contrary, what I see and have often observed is that - it's the women who run homes and are the ones indirectly swaying and ruling families; men included. In some homes, I know of women and mothers who rule completely. I wonder, which parts of Yemen those articles were reporting on?
The articles simply generalized Yemen. They bunched all of Yemen, together. I wanted to write an article in reply to those reports, then. Because, as I see it and as I observe all around me, the condition of women is not as those reports and articles state. First - let me give a brief definition of 'abuse':
mistreat: treat badly; "This boss abuses his workers"; "She is always stepping on others to get ahead"
maltreatment: cruel or inhumane treatment
Abuse is a general term for the use or treatment of something (person, thing, idea, etc.) that causes some kind of harm (to the abused person or thing, to the abusers themselves, or to someone else) or is unlawful or wrongful. Its close synonyms are mistreatment and maltreatment. ...In Yemen, like in all developing countries, women's condition in the rural areas is bad. They have much work to do and most do not attend school for long. But most girls in urban areas do attend school and most are literate. I know, that: here In Al Mukalla, most women can read and write; most girls are in school and are aiming to attain the highest education, possible; in fact - girls, generally, now, are doing much better in schools, than boys. I am writing this, with specifically - Hadhramout - in mind.
Of all the countries and places I have been in, it's most rare for women to be abused here. As I pointed out in one of my earliest posts over two years ago:..... it is the girls and women who play the most central role and are actually the moving forces behind most families. It is the women who are the main and central foundation of families. Whatever men do, it is always the girls and women of the family - who are uppermost in their considerations and minds. The well being and dignity of the women is always considered first and foremost, before most big decisions would be made or undertaken. In all my years here, I have never seen or noticed a man shouting at a woman or in any way hurting a woman in public; all differences or arguments with women, are done as privately and as quietly as possible. And that's how it still is.
Whenever too, I visit relatives and friends in other parts of Yemen - I do not see or notice the kind of general abuse that those articles reported. To the contrary, what I see and have often observed is that - it's the women who run homes and are the ones indirectly swaying and ruling families; men included. In some homes, I know of women and mothers who rule completely. I wonder, which parts of Yemen those articles were reporting on?
Comments
Respectfully.
But around me here in Mukalla and in Hadhramout in general, most women are treated with respect and consideration.
Though I am not a woman, I come from a family whose members are mostly women: I have seven sisters and two brothers; I have three daughters and two sons; in my own home, there are more females than males. And, whenever there is any thing related to women - I discuss with my wife. That's what I did before writing that article.
My wife is a medic and a social worker and leader of a section of Hadhramout's female hospital staff; and she has her own clinic. Almost all her clients are women; she visits many women and each day, deals with hundreds of women. When she is at home, many women visit her each day. Her work too, gets her to travel to other parts of Yemen. She certainly would know.
It's her I asked: are women that abused (70%) here? I explained to her exactly what 'abuse' would mean. Though she said that she has been in some parts of the country in remote areas where most women have it rough, she said that here in Al Mukalla, and in Hadhramout in general, very few women are being mistreated or abused. And that - most women are literate and almost all girls go to school; she even pointed out that, in many homes - more girls than boys go to school.
To generalise Yemen is wrong. There is rural and urban Yemen; Yemen still has many tribes living in very remote areas (Bedouins) who have very little education. And there are parts of the country, still cilinging to very old traditional ways that give very little to women. And like in most countries of the world, women in rural areas live very hard lives. But not here in Al Mukalla or Hadhramout in general.
As to Western reports and articles having double satndards, that has always been the case. Gaza, Iraq and the way Israel and America have made lives, especially those of women's - miserable in these places - aren't seriously dealt with.
Respectfully.
Lynn: I love Hadhramout and do love Africa too. I know too that women's condition worldwide is generally bad and in some places truly shocking and deplorable. I know too, that some women here in Hadhramout have it very rough.But on the whole, consdidering the poor economic condition here, what I see around me - is that women are better off than in most places I have been in. Man, be they men or women, are not 'absolutely free and equal, living completely empowered lives' in most places I know of. Mankind is a beast; THE Beast. We have not only so selfish and - cruelly and mercilessly treated each other in many instances, but have been very poor managers of the World and its resources.
I agree that: women, our Mothers, Sisters and Daughters - generally are very badly treated in many parts of the world. I have been in places where even some animals have better value than women.
It's not constituitions or religions that are to blame; Islam preaches justice, mercy and respect for women so much that Mothers are considered much more superior to Fathers (second only to God); the raising of Daughters properly with kindness and the most consideration, is given much more priority than the raising of Sons; and Wives are to be treated with the grestest respect, kindness and consideration. I believe all religions have the same teachings.
But it's cultures and traditions that dictate women's treatment and conditions - worldwide. As for equality and the empowerment of women, I believe it's that - that has made women to be so aggressively treated in countries like the US. Men are men and women will always be women; there are certain things that are best for men and some are best for women; there are certain things that men do better and ther are some - women excell in. So, the whole notion of men and women being equal is absurd. Women should fight for their rights; in some aspects they should have equal rights to men; in some - they should have better; but it can not be in every thing men and women will be equal and have it equal. I personally believe that, if each of us can relate and deal with each other humanely, respectfully and with consideration - irrespective whether one is a woman or a man - the World will be a much better place to live in.
Note: Westerners simply do not understand Muslim and Asian cultures. Cultures, like the Japanese's, that give women respect and dignity but at the same time might appear to keeping women 'abused'. At the same time, there are many Muslim and Asian men who have used their culture and traditions to keep women in shackles.