The Role of Women in Yemen amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

For the past 17 years, Um Naria has supported her family by selling traditional Yemeni samosas in front of a local school in Al-Hodeidah, Yemen. As a mother of six children, Um Naria relies on her local samosa sales in order to provide food for her family and pay her medical expenses. However, as Yemen’s economic crisis worsens, rent prices and costs of daily expenses are on the rise. As small businesses are forced to close and schools are shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Um Naria can no longer sell her samosas and now struggles to keep her family fed and healthy. 

Um Naria is one of hundreds of thousands of women struggling to make ends meet in Yemen today. Amidst the ongoing armed conflict and economic hardships, women in Yemen face added challenges posed by COVID-19. As men enter the conflicts, the number of female-headed households are increasing. With 75% of Yemen's population dependent on international aid, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and poses a disproportionate threat to women and children. Yemeni women are pushed to enter new roles with little to no support, and face heightened vulnerability to economic instability, gender-based violence and domestic abuse, and infectious disease. 

Prior to the emergence of COVID-19, rates of gender-based violence in Yemen were already extremely high in the context of the ongoing armed conflict. In 2017, 2.6 million women and girls in Yemen were at risk of gender-based violence. This percentage is reported to have increased by over 63% within the past five years. Now, with pandemic stay at home orders, millions of women and young girls are trapped at home with their abusers. Millions of women have lost their small businesses due to the economic hardship, and thus are increasingly dependent on their abusers for financial stability. The covid-19 pandemic has worsened an egregious crisis of gender-based violence by eroding protection mechanisms and minimizing services and funding for survivors of abuse. 

In addition to increased vulnerability to sexual violence, women in Yemen are also at grave risk for infectious disease. The ongoing conflict has destroyed over 50% of health facilities within the past 5 years. Women constitute the majority of healthcare workers and work in crowded conditions with poor water and sanitation facilities and minimal hygiene provision. Both in medical facilities and community centers, Yemeni women constitute the majority of the medical workforce. Close proximity to infected patients coupled with highly unsanitary conditions pose Yemeni women at heightened vulnerability to COVID-19. However, women still face significant barriers to the limited health facilities that are available to them. For example, in certain governantes, women are required to obtain a male family member’s permission to attend a health facility. Gender-based violence and misogyny intersect with health inequities—without adequate intervention and funding, the UNFPA estimates that 48,000 women in Yemen could die due to a lack of sexual and reproductive health services.

While Yemeni women bear the brunt of oppression and violence, they courageously lead and provide for their local communities through grassroots advocacy. Women in Yemen are not only on the frontlines of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and caring for the sick, but are also leading efforts to produce PPE including face masks and suits for other healthcare workers. These women-led community based initiatives are essential to the livelihoods of millions of civilians in Yemen, and are considered critical to ensuring PPE availability to control the spread of the pandemic. Women’s leadership in grassroots advocacy must be reflected within the international peace and security arena, as they unapologetically serve as catalysts for change within their local communities in the wake of hardship. 

Works Cited 

Authored by: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women Yemen. “Priorities for Gender Equality in Yemen's COVID-19 Response.” Georgetown Institute of Women Peace and Security, giwps.georgetown.edu/resource/priorities-for-gender-equality-in-yemens-covid-19-response/.

“In Yemen, Women Face Added Challenges Posed by COVID-19 amidst Ongoing Armed Conflict.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2020/7/feature-yemen-covid-amidst-armed-conflict. 

Spearling, Michelle, et al. “Women Leaders COVID-19 Response from the Grassroots to Government: Perspectives from Yemen.” LSE Women, Peace and Security Blog, 2 June 2020, blogs.lse.ac.uk/wps/2020/06/02/women-leaders-covid-19-response-from-the-grassroots-to-government-perspectives-from-yemen/. 

“Women Face Rise in Domestic Violence Due to Coronavirus Lockdown in Yemen, Report Says .” Arab News, Arabnews, 9 June 2020, www.arabnews.com/node/1687111/middle-east. 

“Yemeni Women Take the Lead in the Fight against COVID-19 - Yemen.” ReliefWeb, 10 Sept. 2020, reliefweb.int/report/yemen/yemeni-women-take-lead-fight-against-covid-19.