Yemen's civil war hits women and children hardest

Yemens civil war hits women and children hardest
Date: 9.6.2023 16:00

Children and women have been most affected by the civil war that has been going on in Yemen since 2014 between the government and the Iranian-backed Houthis.

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According to the records, it is stated that 23,000 children either died or lost their limbs due to the war.
 
1600 schools in the country have become unusable and 2 million children are unable to receive education.
 
Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM) President Prof. Dr. Ahmet Uysal and Human Rights and Freedoms (IHH) Human and Social Research Center (INSAMER) researcher Doctor Riad Domazeti evaluated the impact of the civil war in Yemen on children and women.
 
Uysal stated that Yemen was dragged into a political and economic crisis during the Arab Spring period in 2010, adding that the uprising turned into a civil war and the Houthis captured many cities in 2014.
 
Uysal reminded that after the Houthis seized the capital of the country, Sana'a, in 2014, the Yemeni government sought assistance from the Arab League and that the Saudi Arabian-led Arab Coalition launched Operation Decisive Storm against the Iran-backed Houthis in 2015.
 
"Today, we can talk about a Yemen that is politically and economically fragmented and dominated by non-state actors in different regions. While the power struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran continued in the country, the internal dynamics in Yemen caused the war to multiply," Uysal said.
 

"WOMEN, CHILDREN AND THE DISABLED ARE THE MOST AFFECTED"

 
Noting that civilian casualties are higher in Yemen than in other crisis and conflict zones, as the parties carried out attacks without considering military targets, Uysal said that the Yemeni government and the Houthis targeted public spaces and civilian settlements in their attacks.
 
Uysal pointed out that approximately 400 thousand civilians have been killed in Yemen since 2014,
 
"As the warring parties attacked settlements, hospitals, post offices, schools and other non-military targets, 4.5 million Yemenis were displaced within the country, and almost 21 million 600 thousand people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance," Uysal added.
 
Uysal said that as far as it was registered, 23,000 children died or lost their limbs due to the war, and that there were tens of thousands of unregistered deaths in Yemen.
 
According to the Yemen report published by the United Nations (UN) in 2023, 12 million 600 thousand women in the country have either limited or non-existent access to humanitarian aid and basic women's needs.
 
Uysal mentioned that the warring parties in Yemen did not apply positive discrimination to disadvantaged groups such as women, children and the disabled during the civil war,
 
"It should be noted that women, children and disabled people are the ones most affected by the civil war in the country. It is in question that women are exposed to activities that degrade human dignity and that children are used in war. Both the Houthis and the warring parties actively use children," Uysal said.
 
Doctor Riad Domazeti also explained that civilians pass through checkpoints while changing cities within the country and are subjected to arbitrary practices by the militia.
 
"Yemenis are not only kept waiting for hours at checkpoints for no reason but also arbitrarily detained without any reason. Detained defenseless civilians are taken to torture centers and subjected to various tortures. Warring groups seize civilian property in the name of commissions or taxes," Domazeti said.

YEREL HABERLER

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