Supporting Women’s Freedom of Movement is a Peace Call, too

November 1, 2022– She4Society Initiative

The recent decision by the Ansar Allah movement, also known as the Houthi armed group, to require women to provide the consent of a mahram, or male guardian (usually from male relatives), when seeking to travel inside or outside the country is a major blow to peace efforts in Yemen, including ongoing efforts to renew the truce.

At the end of last year, Iran-backed Houthi authorities began to increasingly demand that women show written consent from their male guardians when traveling. Recently, Houthi authorities have begun to demand that women to be accompanied by a male guardian if they want to travel inside or outside Yemen.

On April 2, 2022, a long-awaited truce was negotiated in the war-ravaged country, raising hopes for an end to Yemen's eight-year bloody war. Unfortunately, the recent failure to extend the truce has raised fears that Yemeni civilians will soon face another escalation in fighting between the warring parties. Members of the international community are currently conducting mediation visits with the warring parties, encouraging them to renew the truce and build on the positive effects of the months-long ceasefire.

While we at She4Society Initiative urge the renewal of the truce because of its positive effects for civilians, we also believe that the recent measures that warring parties, particularly the Houthi armed group, have imposed restricting women's freedom of movement are a violation of the truce, and jeopardize lasting peace in Yemen. The Houthi armed group first restricted women’s movement by requiring women to provide a written consent from a male guardian to travel and have lately further restricted women’s movement by demanding they be accompanied by their male relatives (male guardians). Authorities in some areas in Aden, south of Yemen, have also forced women to provide a mahram in hotels, or to have a written paper from their employer if they are traveling for work mission. Women peacebuilders have also reported being routinely harassed at checkpoints controlled by various armed actors.

Freedom of movement is a fundamental human right, and the mahram policy is a discrimination that imposes a new reality and affects women's advancement in society, keeping them from many opportunities that they rarely receive. Many women in Yemen are bearing the burden of this war and have to travel inside and outside the country because of economic and financial obligations. The demand that women only travel with a mahram can place an additional and unbearable burden on women already suffering from the war and already struggling to provide for themselves and their families. Women whose work requires them to travel to different parts of Yemen told She4Society Initiative that they were afraid they might lose their jobs because of the mahram requirement; either because they've no male relative or he was unwilling to travel with them, or because neither they nor the male relative could afford the transportation costs associated with bringing an additional person on the trip.

Since the outbreak of war, warring parties, particularly the Houthi group, have weaponized gender norms in Yemen against women. This comes after decades of struggle by Yemeni women who oppose these practices at all levels. Unfortunately, the increased imposition of mahram requirements by the Houthi armed group will likely turn into negative norms that will have a negative impact on gender equality in Yemen and on peace.

Before the current war in Yemen, women were making significant gains and their full and equal participation in society is key to lasting peace. In recent years, women across the Middle East, from Saudi Arabia to Iran, have called for an end to discriminatory restrictions that prevent them from participating as equals in society.

 We, at the She4Society Initiative, urge the UN Special Envoy, the UN Security Council and others with influence to:

1. Call on the parties to the conflict, particularly the Houthi armed group, to respect women’s right to freedom of movement, including by immediately ending any policies or practices that require a woman to show approval or be escorted by a male guardian.

2. Ensure that efforts to extend the truce including ensuring that warring parties are respecting women’s freedom of movement both within and outside Yemen.
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