Number of suicides among young Yemenis increases

Written By: Basheer Al-Selwi

Article Date: Aug 11, 2009

Hoda al-Robee, 22 years old, from the Sharab district resolved to terminate her life after finding herself married to an unbearable husband that beat her everyday. According to Ali al-Mekhlaphe, one of al-Robee’s neighbors, when al-Robee made the decision to leave her husband, her relatives rejected her completely and shut their doors in her face.

The neglect of her relatives and the daily beatings from her husband compelled al-Robee to kill herself. She covered herself with gasoline and burned to death in order to put an end to her pain and agony.

Al-Robee is only one among many young Yemenis who are prone to commit suicide.

Yemeni doctors have verified the increased number of suicides among Yemeni youth, calling for rapid and swift solutions, saying that suicides among youth—both male and female—have become a serious and widespread problem in Yemen due to the

country’s economic, religious, and social situations. They also confirm that suicides are increasing drastically among people, specifically those between 18 and 30 years of age.

Suicide is a widespread phenomenon which affects people of various ages regardless of gender. The motivations that may force a person to commit suicide vary from one person to another, based on their psychological, economic, and religious situations or their social environment. The reason behind a suicide could be a psychological disorder or a lack of religious discipline, which may go unnoticed by the people living with the person who commits suicide, stated Mohammed al-Karshee, a student preparing for a Master’s Degree in Psychological Treatment at Sana’a University.

Economic causes:

Economic studies indicate that the number of suicides committed among youth is increasing each year, a fact which experts believe is a result of the deteriorating economic situation and growing unemployment among youth. They also consider the tough economic situation of the country as a whole one of the main reasons youth are so frustrated and unable to achieve their aims and goals in life.

While government sources believe that suicides among youth are a result of domestic problems, economic researchers and psychological experts strongly believe that poverty, economic deterioration, and the decline of living conditions at every level of society are the leading causes of youth terminating their own lives.

These sources confirm that Sana’a ranks highest over Aden and al-Hodeidah in the number of youth suicides in comparison with the other governorates.

According to these government sources, most youth who commit suicide are between 18 and 30 years old. The most common means by which youth take their lives include: shooting, poisoning, burning, or hanging themselves, or by blowing themselves up.

Economic researchers and psychological experts affirm that poor people are subject to daily oppression. Furthermore, such feelings generate a strong desire for revenge on society. So, when a person finds themselves paralyzed and unable to support themselves, he or she immediately terminates his or her own life.

The experts also attach special importance or significance to religion by saying that religion plays a very significant role in keeping youth from killing themselves. They state that religious discipline enables any person to be satisfied about their life and not have inner conflict or disorder.

Social misery

Psychologists emphasize that suicide rates are increasing dramatically among women in recent years. The number of suicidal deaths among females has approached unprecedented numbers, and as a result of this phenomenon, the number of orphans in Yemeni society has increased correspondingly, especially if the women were married and had children.

“When any youth commits suicide in order to end his or her pain and agony in this life, he or she leaves a lot of pain for his or her family. Committing suicide shocks and devastates families and strongly affects relationships. Moreover, it paralyzes the family completely and spreads sadness among all family members,” explains Doctor Khaled al-Shameree, the head of the psychological unit in the al-Amel Hospital.

“My youngest daughter, Latifa Ahmed, decided to end her life by burning herself with gasoline. Her grandfather did not love her. Furthermore, he was always upset with her for trivial things. One day she quarreled with her brother. When her brother returned home and complained to their grandfather that she had insulted and quarreled with him, her grandfather immediately took his hand and slapped her across the face,” says Latifa’s mother.

Her mother went on to say, “yes, she told me, ‘mom I am going to burn myself,’ to which I replied innocently, you’ll go to hell...’ after a while she came out of the kitchen with huge flames around her body. We could not catch her to extinguish the fire because she was running and spinning around saying, ‘help me, help me,’ but it was too late for help, she was about to die.”

“No one can imagine how much pain I am in right now. I know that she terminated her life in her own way, for the obvious reasons that we did not offer her adequate love and sympathy. But she leaves me, her father, brothers, and sisters and her whole family in shock. Everyone in the family is suffering from her death,” her mother commented.

She concluded, “Why didn’t she express her distress and pain to me? Maybe I would have been able to help her. It seems that she decided to leave me in pain forever. We are all overwhelmed by her death, our financial situation has gone from bad to worse due to her father’s constant refusal to work after her death.”

According to some studies about youth suicides in Yemen the number of these instances among young Yemenis is increasing sharply, particularly in recent years. This phenomenon is illustrated by the high number of suicides among Yemeni youth, a statistic which has increased by 52% annually due to unemployment, increasing domestic problems, poverty, and deteriorating social situations.

Suicidal symptoms:

“The person who is likely to kill themselves always sees life as being dark, nothing is beautiful for them and nothing is worth living for. They are always thinking about death, farewells, their friends crying, writing wills, and committing suicide,” explains Dr. Fikri al-Naib, a consulting psychiatrist and medical director at the al-Amal Psychiatric Hospital.

Causes and solutions.

Fellow al-Amal Hospital pyschologist, Khaled al-Shameree says, “Suicide is the act of purposefully ending one’s own life, particularly when one finds there is no hope in life compelling oneself to keep on living. Most of the youth who commit suicide are between the ages of 18 to 29, a fact that is confirmed by most studies around the world. Furthermore, young people in this stage of life are exposed to different psychological diseases such as personality disorder, depression, and fatigue.”

Depression is one of the main causes which leads youth to commit suicide. Depression makes anyone in general, and youth in particular, feel as if life is dark and there is no hope to keep on living.

According to Dr. al-Shameree, youth are killing themselves in response to extreme emotional pain and suicidal thoughts and feelings caused by various brain chemistry deficiencies and/or disorders. Prolonged circumstances of extreme stress, emotional instability, abuse, poverty, terrible living conditions, neglect, poor health, injuries, or disabilities—especially when there is no apparent hope of change or improvement—can and do precipitate depression and suicidal thoughts for some.

He explains that lack of social support from the family and society, such as love, encouragement, and financial support, can lead to more suicidal cases among youth. Moreover, single youth are more likely to commit suicide due to the fact that they feel lonely and no one supports or helps them.

“Suicide occurs with people of all ages and backgrounds, but certain groups of people are at an increased risk for suicide attempts. These include people with a psychiatric illness and a past history of suicide attempts. Males are more likely than females to commit suicide, although suicide attempts are more common among females.” Al-Shameree added, “a family history of, or exposure to, suicide, altered levels of neurotransmitters in the brain, and impulsiveness are other factors that may increase an individual’s risk of suicide.”

Most borderline personalities kill themselves on account of the loss of friends or other disappointments in life. These individuals suffer from gloomy thoughts, anxiety and sadness because they feel as if they are completely alone on this planet. So when their feelings of loneliness get worse and worse, they start cutting their bodies with sharp materials. They don’t realize what they are doing while they are cutting themselves, and most of the time they die if there is no one to prevent them from hurting themselves,” Dr. al-Shameree said.

He explains that unemployment causes them to become depressed, and then depression takes over their minds and everything becomes dark in their eyes, after they arrive at this stage, they are prepared to commit suicide.

Yemeni psychologists confirm that committing suicide can influence others, especially family members and neighbors. For instance, if someone kills himself and there is someone in the same family or neighborhood thinking about death, maybe that person will imitate him and kill themselves as well.

“While there are no definitive answers for why youth attempt and complete suicide, there is a general agreement that youth who take their own lives feel hopeless about their situation and believe it will never change,” says psychiatrist, Dr. Fikri al-Naib, adding, “suicide seems to be a response to seemingly intolerable pain. It appears due to a complex set of factors that interact with the youth’s biological, emotional, intellectual and social stages of development.”

According to al-Naib, some of the factors which contribute to suicide are biological, such as depression due to chemical imbalance, physical illness, physical or learning disabilities, chemical changes during puberty, or physical dependency on drugs or alcohol. Emotional factors include sadness, stress, impulsive behavior, a sense of powerlessness, loss, grief, loneliness, low self-esteem, anger or rage, guilt, hopelessness, a sense of being overwhelmed, anxiety, confusion about sexual identity/orientation, or emotional dependency on chemical substances. There are intellectual factors as well, such as an inability to communicate feelings, perfectionism, pressure to achieve or perform, self-criticism, unrealistic views of death, revenge, and exaggeration of faults. Finally, there are social factors such as isolation, withdrawal, friendlessness, lack of social skills, unpopularity, feelings of not belonging, embarrassment before peers, or being labeled as crazy, stupid, or different. Social factors can also include being in trouble at home, at school or with the law, or being a runaway.

“Exposure to rape is considered one of the main reasons for young girls to commit suicide, especially if they can’t adjust to circumstances after they’ve been raped. Sometimes when the young girls are subjected to rape, they kill themselves in order to avoid the disgrace which can follow them later on,” said al-Naib.

He concluded, “the solution to this problem rests on the shoulders of the media. They need to educate people on how they should deal with depression which may lead to suicide, and on how others should deal with a person who is threatening to commit suicide.”

Freedom of speech in the eyes of Yemeni youth

By: Basheer Omar Al-Selwi.
For the Yemen Times.
Published:23-07-2009

Compared to neighboring countries, Yemen has made notable achievements regarding the most important element of democracy, freedom of speech or expression. Yemenis can criticize the government publicly, although media censorship exists.

Hundreds of columnists and human right activists write negative things about the government, the ruling political party and the Yemeni cultural heritage. Despite this background, many young Yemenis are afraid to express themselves on many topics. They either don’t want to, or don’t dare to talk about it.

“Actually, I am socialist and want to talk about Marx and his ideas. If I talk about him, people around will criticize me. Really these things contradict completely with the principles of freedom of speech,” said Ashraf Al-Hakeme, an English literature graduate, from Sana’a University.

Politics, sex, and religion are the triangle of taboos in many societies. But the reasons behind the silence on these topics are different from one person to another.

Interviewing 15 middle-class students, between 20 and 25 years old at Sana'a University, revealed that they are afraid of talking about political issues, especially in public places.

They are afraid they may expose themselves to a lot of troubles such as, torture or detention by the “national security”

Most of them believe strongly there is no freedom of speech in Yemen, even if the government pretends there is.

“If someone put himself at risk by talking about corruption or criticizing the government, the government will arrest him immediately and he will not find any body defending him especially if she or he is a normal person (has no powerful relatives),” said Wadhah Alqabti.

Iskander Almamari said that there are no applicable rules or laws protecting the freedom of expression in Yemen, and even if there are some laws and rules, they are just ink on papers.

Some Sana'a University students also believe student unions are tools of political parties. They would prefer not to involve with the parties political conflicts, and be away from political issues in general.

The majority of the students showed signs of awkwardness when it came to sex issues. They said, however, that in some situations, they have the liberty to talk about sex, especially when they are with their friends.

All of them expressed their fear of sending incorrect signals to the opposite sex if they broached the topic. The students confessed that they were not brave enough to talk to each other about sex.

“These matters do not go with the cultures and traditions, especially in Yemeni society,” Ashraf Almekhlafi commented.

But if they don’t talk about sex, from where they get information? The media, friends and the internet were cited as the primary sources of information on sex and reproductive health, they answered simply. No one refers to reproductive health centers.

Regarding the religions, most of the students were reserved and said they were not informed enough to speak about it. Some believed that a person needs a certain amount of religious training to be qualified to talk about it, and most said they felt their education did not meet the standard.

“I am not cultivated adequately in order to talk about religion. I dislike committing sin by giving uniformed legal opinions. In religion, all people have limitations if they want to talk about it, so in religion there is not freedom of speech” Laula Al-Qobatee



Your freedom and their freedom

But though the hushed environment, the young Yemenis expressed their need and will to break the silence surrounding these topics.

“Sex, politics and religion are our lives. Most of people say do not talk about such things. How come? What else remains for us?” said Najeeb Al-hemuree, of the psychology department at Sana’a University.

Nevertheless, the government, family censorship, and the social and the cultural norms are not the only reasons behind the reticence at the young people to speak. Self-censorship was very obvious when they were talking about the meaning of freedom of expression. Concern over hurting others feelings dominated.

“Freedom of expression in my view is to utter whatever, whenever, and however you desire to express aside from from ordering, controlling or watching others” Shauma Swylah, of the English department said.

She added, “However, when we want to talk about the freedom of expressions. We should take into account that we have to care about other’s feeling. We have also to avoid completely hurting other’s feelings.”

Swylah said that she believes that freedom of expression enhances creativity among youth and will help create and produce so many things.

“For instance, they will do so many activities which make them better in thinking and behaving and will be able to expose what is going on in their minds. Also they will be able to converse and communicate with others in order to express their new ideas, and how they look at things in their own ways. Certainly, all these issues make them feel they are free and no one can exercises control over them,” she said.

‘‘I believe that freedom of expression is significant for youth, and it is one of the most important factors in increasing their abilities. You know, all creative acts need somehow excessive freedom of speech, if a person feels that he or she is free, he or she will take responsibility for their actions,” Mohammad Mawya

“Some youth are expressing some things wrongly under the name of freedom of expression, put differently, they offend under the pretext of it. I think such people must be educated in order to know the right definition of freedom of expressions, and they need to correct their ideas about freedom of expressions. Freedom does not mean to hurt others under any circumstances, freedom means respect and caring about other’s feelings, faiths, and traditions,” he said

Mawya added “Youth have to be aware of their responsibilities toward such concept. Since they believe in freedom of speech, they have to speak out in order that others will be able to hear them and their demands. If they want people to advocate for them, they have to represent the good aspects of freedom.

the English student Jasmine Al-Selwi said: In sum, freedom of expression is important for the whole society in general and youth particularly because youth being the main category which society depends on. So, I hope that youth can use such privilege rightly,”

“Freedom of expression means that to say whatever you want without crossing other’s limitation and harming them. As we know that every thing has limitations in our lives, but when we start defining freedom of expression in the way we like,” she added

“Freedom of expression is also defined under the notion of Islam. As a Muslim, religion can guide you to whatever you want without crossing the limits,” she said “Youth can help in spreading the freedom of expressions among so many people if they put religion in front of their eyes,” she added. “In this way, Islam will guide them to the prefect and complete freedom of speech. Through Islam they can spread and present it among the people and in the world.”

“Freedom of expression are beautiful words. Even the tongue pronounces them beautifully and tenderly. It means to say whatever your mind tells you to say. But you have to be aware of others rights. Your freedom ends, when the freedom of others starts,” said Ahmed Sa’eed a French literature student.

He added “freedom of expression means to say or to criticize anything that goes wrongly, But you have to be able to provide the convincible causes for your censuring. Your critique should not contain any offensive expressions to anyone directly or indirectly. Your freedom of speech does not allow you to criticize the person himself, but it gives the freedom and absolute right to disapprove the ideas.”

Qat chewing among Yemeni children needs to be stopped

Written By: Basheer Al-Selwi
Article Date: Aug 18, 2009

I can’t sleep, and sometimes I stay awake all night from the pain I endure in my teeth. Doctors are always telling me that Qat is one of the main causes responsible for the ruin of my teeth,” said Abdullah Ismaeel, 12 years old.

Abdullah usually visits the dentist to care for his teeth, which have been destroyed by chewing Qat. The latest report by Abdullah’s doctor confirms that he needs two root canals performed, while his other teeth also have problems which will require treatment of a different nature.

Abdullah said, “I have been chewing Qat for 3 years now as a result of initially accompanying my father to Qat sessions. My father gives me Qat all of the time, thinking that chewing it will make me a stronger man.”

According to Abdullah, he is unable to eat any solid foods, even meat, because of the pain that comes while chewing. “When I go out with my friends I cannot enjoy myself as much as they do, nor eat as freely as they do, because I’m constantly aware of my aching teeth” he said.

He concluded, “I cannot blame anyone in this world other than my father since he is the one who encouraged me to chew Qat initially. Instead of preventing me from chewing, he taught me with strong persistence to chew Qat. Now, I have become a burden for both him and myself.

Abdullah is only one victim among many Yemeni children who chew Qat and experience negative side effects.

Yemeni doctors verify the increased number of Yemeni children chewing Qat, calling for rapid and fast solutions, and saying that chewing Qat among children, especially boys, has become a serious and extensive problem. This is due in part to the social situation and the widespread illiteracy among Yemeni parents, especially fathers. They also confirm that chewing Qat is increasing dramatically among children, specifically, those between the ages of 9-15.

The effects of Qat are dangerous to all people, particularly children because they are more likely to suffer from diseases related to Qat such as cancer in the oral-dental tissue and diabetes mellitus, among others. This is because children’s immune systems are weaker than adults.

Since Qat use is widespread and often persists throughout children’s lives, especially those between 9-17 years old, there have been no studies conducted on the toxicological aspect of habitual Qat usage among children.

“Qat chewing, especially among children, causes lesions to the support structures of the teeth, namely gingivitis, periodontal pocket formation, gingival recession, tooth mobility, and tooth mortality. Qat chewing, particularly among children, causes cracking and pain in the jaw, and leads to attrition and staining of the teeth and cervical decay particularly among crystallized sugar consumers as well,” according to Doctor Osama, Dentist at al-Noor Medical Center.

According to Doctor Osama, Qat chewing results in mouth dryness and inflammation of salivary glands. Qat chewing also causes obvious facial asymmetry, and for this reason, children are more likely to be exposed to problems.

“In the past 3 years of my work here, a lot of children are coming to me suffering from obvious symptoms such as gingival recession, attrition, staining of teeth and cervical caries, and inflammation of the gums. In most of these cases I usually discover later that children with these symptoms chew Qat regularly,” Osama asserted.

Despite the fact that Qat chewing is spreading rapidly among Yemeni children, there are no studies or statistics that clearly state the number of Yemeni children who are chewing.

“I chew Qat every day. My father gives me an adequate amount of money to go to the Qat souk and buy whatever I need. Every day I get YR 1000 due to the fact that my father has plenty of money and runs a store on Kholan Street,” 13-year-old Talal Mohammed al-Selwi expressed

Al-Selwi claimed, “I will not stop chewing Qat because it is the best thing in my life, irrespective of its dangers.”

Yemeni Doctors confirm that Qat affects children’s bodies and makes them more likely to suffer from different diseases such as loss of appetite and stunted growth.

“Chewers of Qat, both children and adults, often complain of the same symptoms due to the fact that Qat has identical affects regardless of age. Children however, are more likely to be exposed to risks because they have a weaker immune system than a strong adult,” Dr. Aida Ali Haidar al-Maktari, a paediatric specialist, said.

Al-Maktari confirmed that Qat chewers, especially children between 9-17 years old, often complain of symptoms suggestive of inflammation of the mouth (stomatitis), oesophagitis, and gastritis. These effects were believed to be caused mainly by the strongly astringent tannins in Qat.

Recent evidence has shown that Qat chewing, specifically among children, delays digestion of a semi-solid meal, probably a result of the action of cathinone in Qat. Prolonged digestion may contribute to an increased chance of heartburn and acid regurgitation, and to an increased risk of Barrett’s oesophagus, a pre-cancerous condition. Loss of appetite frequently follows a Qat session, and chewers seldom eat a further main meal the same day. This anorectic factor may be attributed to combined direct central and gastric effects of cathinone in fresh Qat leaves, which causes the consumer to suffer from severe appetite loss.

The liver was suspected by many authors to be particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of Qat, disturbance in liver function and architecture has been described in experiments conducted on animals both in the short and long-term when fed Catha leaves.

“Qat makes children suffer from stunted growth because children lose their appetite when they chew Qat. Moreover, losing appetite and vitamins leads to more weight loss, which makes the body unable to grow,” al-Maktari commented.

“The solution for this problem rest on the shoulders of parents and relatives, who have a responsibility to prevent their children from chewing Qat. The media should take its role to increase awareness among children and society about the dangers of chewing Qat,” she added.

“Taking children to Qat sessions is not permissible according to the theory that children quickly acquire this bad habit from their parents, relatives, and parent’s friends, starting to imitate them,” al-Maktari concluded.

“Children who are allowed to chew Qat are more likely to learn bad behaviors from their elders due to the fact that a child between 8-17 will imitate others, especially older men,” Ali Mohmmad Kauad, a student of Social Sciences expressed.

According to Kauad, based on our observations, the Qat chewing phenomenon spreads quickly among children as can be perceived by anyone strolling round the gardens or the city.

Poverty plays a very important role in increasing the number of Yemeni children who chew Qat due to the fact that most of the poor families allow to their children to go out, leading them to indulge in relationships with other people already chew Qat. Kauad concluded, “Qat affects children’s level of knowledge because when children gather together for the sake of chewing, they waste their time on a trivia which makes them forget about their studies. Supervising and advising against such practices are the most common ways to keep the children away from Qat.”

Despite the warning of Yemeni doctors and social experts about the perils of Qat consumption among children, the government has never taken any practical steps to enact a law preventing the selling of Qat to children, especially those between 8-17 years old.

Physical violence against marginalized, “al-Akhdam” women in Yemeni society on the rise

Written By: Basheer al Selwi

K.M.H, a marginalized girl, 8, was living in al-Odun, Al-Kema district when she was raped by a rich and powerful person with influence over local authorities, referred to as “Sheikh M.D.”“Sheikh M.D came to our home every night and threatened that he would confiscate all of our possessions under the pretext that we are marginalized, and we have no rights to live freely,” the mother expressed.

The mother went on to say, “We went to the police station to complain about his constant intimidation, but no one would help us. When he knew that we went to the police station he threatened us by saying he would rape my youngest daughter.”

The mother concluded, “One day, while my daughter was walking alone on her path in our village, Sheikh M.D took advantage of the fact that she was alone and raped her in complete disregard of any morals. When she fought back, he broke her neck and choked her to death.” She kept on saying, “no one will punish him, and no body wants to protect us. He raped and killed my daughter. Moreover, he is walking around freely and living his life as if nothing ever happened.”

K.M.H is just one of many victims of such crimes that occur within the country. “One of the main causes, which lies behind the violence against marginalized women, “al-Akhdam” women, is Yemeni culture and traditions. Most of the members of Yemeni society, called “al-Kabaul”, strongly believes that “al-Akhdam” women, or the marginalized women, are all prostitutes and without dignity. Moreover, this concept has been rooted in Yemeni culture for long time,” Dr. Salma A. Dhaif Allah, Administrative Officer and Sister at the Arab Forum for Human Rights expressed.

She confirmed that, “Yemeni society is racist because it is part of a very aggressive culture and practices violence against marginalized women by insulting them, raping them, and many times killing them. It is unfortunate that Yemeni society cannot accept others who are different.

According to Islam and the life of the prophet Mohammed, all kinds of racism are prohibited and rejected. Islam ensures the freedom of everyone regardless of sex, color, or shape.” She added.

Dr. Dhaif Allah went on to say, “Marginalized women are suffering from two problems: First, traditional Yemeni society, “al-Kabaul” which abuses and insults al-Akhdam women everywhere. Even if she is in the street, some men will not hesitate to abuse her in front of others as if she has no dignity. Secondly “al-Akhdam” men often force their women to go into the street in order to work and support the family for better living conditions.”
Dr. Dhaif Allah pointed out that, the solutions of this problem can be achieved by increasing awareness among Yemeni society that marginalized people are an integral part of society as a whole. Moreover, violence against marginalized people should be specifically criminalized.

“A successful strategy may be launching campaigns advocating for greater rights for al-Akhdam people and protection from abuse and exploitation.” She replied.

According to Dr. Dhaif Allah, “The most important burden lies on the shoulders of religious authorities, such as imams, to warn people that exploiting and mistreating al-Akhdam women is both prohibited and wrong.”

Yemen experts are warning of the increased violence against marginalized women and are calling for a rapid solution, saying that violence against them has become a serious, but ignored issue in Yemeni society.

According to the Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights (YOHR), large numbers of marginalized women have been categorically raped and in many cases, killed afterwards.

S.M.H., a marginalized girl, 18, was raped by a man, referred to as “Sheikh M.T.”

S.M.H confirmed, “We live in Ureem-Aras district. My story is like all stories of al-Akhdam women. One day, there was a quarrel between us and Sheikh M.T. about a piece of land. One night, he came with about 40 armed men. They broke into our house, beat my family members, and then kicked us out of our house.”
She pointed out that, Sheikh M.T restrained her inside her house and raped her while threatening to kill her with his gun.

“We have to wait for the justice of God since there are no laws to protect us or punish people responsible for raping and exploiting us,” She added.

“Sheikh M.T. raped me, but like in many cases, received no punishment. I went to police station to complain, but they do no thing because Sheikh M.T. holds a high position in the community, whereas I am a marginalized girl,” she concluded.

According to the Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights, most of the crimes against marginalized women are committed by sheikhs, rich people, and people in high positions.

“The Yemeni Observatory for Human Rights is working on the problems and issues which involve a number of people such as, when a group of people attack another group. Our work does not focus on individual cases,” Deputy Manager Dr. Abdu al-Kader al-Bana expressed.

According to al-Bana, the YOHR is not able to cover all individual cases due to the fact that there are no laws in place to protect marginalized women.

Dr. al-Bana confirmed, “When marginalized women are physically abused, we help them by sending a memorandum to the Ministry of Human Rights, the Ministry of Interior, or to humanitarian organizations. We discuss in our memorandum the circumstances of the victim and what abuse occurred.”

The YOHR lacks the financial support needed to deal with victims on an individual, case by case basis.

Dr. al-Bana went on to say, “The increasing cases of physical violence against marginalized women really make us worried and annoyed. Many cases in which marginalized women complain about being exposed to physical abuse and violence only came to our attention recently.”

“At the YOHR, we document every case and publish reports constantly. We do not send an attorney to advocate individual problems or grievances, but we will send attorneys if the problems involve a large group of people,” he concluded.

“God prohibits all kinds of insult and exploit of others based on their color or sex. God creates all people, so one person is not better than another. Islam urges us to treat people without caring about their color, shape, or creed,” said Zaid Yahua, al-Eman mosque Imam.

He added, “No one has the right to attack marginalized women as they are free and have the right to live peacefully and without persecution, just as any Yemeni does. The government must follow Islamic law and punish anyone who abuses marginalized women.”

According to Zaid Yahua, “Islam defends the rights of the weak and gives them absolute protection. So, any person who truly believes in God and his Prophet Muhammad will never abuse or insult such people because they know that God will punish anyone who insults his creatures.”

“The government should punish anyone who rapes marginalized women according to Islamic law. I hope that the government and responsible people everywhere in the country will not stay silent. They have to take action in order to stop these crimes from occurring,” he concluded.

The Moon Poem

By Basheer al Selwi

****************

See the moon in the sky smiles to me,

but who knows, maybe he is in agony!

Since you left me, the moon appears every day to me,

who knows!? perhaps his beloved abandoned him!.

You have cut the only light in my heart, and left me alone,

but the moon gives me ray of hope, in the same time that you have gone.

Go whatever you desire to go,

and let me stay here smile to the beautiful moon.

You have never seen the happy moon,

smiles and dances over the clouds.

You have never heard the moon,

at the middle of night sing a song.

Song of love, song of happy mood,

song that no singer in the world can sing or composed.

You know that, I have to go,

due to the moon left the sky, and left me alone

2007