Case Studies on Women and Conflict in
Tribal Yemen
Al-Jawf
Nadwa Al-Dawsari
April 19, 2014
Introduction:
Women
in tribal areas in Yemen are often portrayed in the mainstream media as weak,
voiceless and victims of tribal traditions that suppress and discriminate
against them. Very little effort has been done to explore the role women play
and the influence they have on their communities, particularly in relation to
conflict. An assessment that was conducted by Partners Yemen demonstrated that
women are not always passive actors in conflict, but can play roles as
instigators of conflict or peacemakers. Many women are active in resolving
conflicts within their families and communities, and on rare occasions
respected older women may intervene in violent disputes. The Partners’
assessment concluded that women’s role in conflict can be significant, both
exacerbating and mitigating conflict[1].
The
following case studies will examine the role of women in peacemaking in Aljawf
governorate through the stories and experience of some local women leaders. The
purpose of this exercise is to trigger questions and analyses that would
hopefully inspire programs that could enhance the role of women in conflict
resolution and peacebuilding in tribal areas in Yemen.
Background:
With
a population of about 577,000, Aljwaf is one of the 21 governorates of Yemen
located in Northeast of the capital city of Sanaa. With twelve districts, it
extends over the Empty Quarter to the boarders with Saudi Arabia and occupies
about 7.2% of Yemen’s land. It is one of the poorest and most isolated areas in
the country where, according to the 2007 Yemen Poverty Assessment, between 40
and 60 percent of the population are poor.[2]In
addition, over 83% of the local population are illiterate.[3]
Those who visit Aljawf describe it as an
area that still lives in the stone ages. The main urban center in the
governorate, Alhazm, for example doesn’t have any hotels or restaurants. People
still rely almost exclusively on grazing and agriculture for income.
Aljawf is among the Northern
governorates that have strong tribal traditions. Tribal Customary law is the main system that
handles disputes. However, increase in conflicts and lack of development among
other factors put the system under tremendous stress. Corruption, poverty,
unemployment, competition over water and resources, as well as a lack of
resources for education and a shortage of teachers were named as some of the
root causes of conflict in the community[4].
In some areas, tribal conflicts caused the closure of schools and hence
deprived students of education for many years.[5]
In recent years, the governorate witnessed violent clashes between local tribes
and Huthi rebels.[6]
There are no functioning courts in the governorates and the only two courts are
limited to notarizing marriage certificates and other paper work.[7] The absence of a robust formal judicial
system and the erosion of existing tribal conflict resolution traditions led to
an increase in conflict which embedded most development efforts in the
governorate.
Women
and Conflict:
Unlike
the perception, women in Aljawf do have influence over decisions that affect
their lives such as marriage and divorce. A girl’s consent is necessary before
marriage. Culturally it is not only acceptable but common for a woman to leave
her husband if she so chooses, and her family and tribe will usually support
her decision. A man who holds his wife against her will be accused of
committing a “black shame” among tribes.
“It is very normal in al-Jawf. If a woman doesn’t want a man anymore,
she can simply dump him”, said Sayyedah Alghanemyah, a prominent female tribal
leader in Aljawf[8].
Although the culture has been influenced by conservative religious education
imported from Saudi Arabia over the past two decades, most women seem to still
enjoy respect and influence in their communities.
Evidence
show that women play a role, both negative and positive, in conflicts. Women
sometimes instigate conflicts by pushing their male relatives to take revenge.
“They will talk” is a local saying in
Mareb indicating that a man will be the focus of women’s gossip if he fails to
take revenge and as a consequence he will be labeled a “dishonorable” man.
However, women seem to be more actively involved in resolving conflicts than in
instigating them. Although women do not take the position of direct mediators
or arbitrators, they are sometimes able to influence tribal leaders who carry
that responsibility as well as the parties to the conflict or those who have
influence over them.
Through
leveraging tribal rules that give women access, protection, influence and
respect, some women managed to mitigate violent conflicts. A woman can
influence an arbitration process by cutting a piece of her hair and taking it
to the arbitrator. This is an indication that she has a demand and a good
arbitrator and tribesman would honor the demand of a woman in that context.
In
tribal traditions, it is considered a “black shame” to harm a woman or a man
who is accompanying a woman; hence, women have an ability to move in and out of
conflict zones without being targeted. If harmed, the blood money of a woman
can be up to forty-four times the blood money of a man. Because of this women
often play a role in providing supplies and in some cases they have evacuated
injured fighters.
Case
Study 1: Fatima ended a family dispute:
Context:
A misunderstanding between Ali Mejwer
and his brother Mohammed Mejwer had escalated to the extent that Ali had
abandoned his tribe and sought refuge with another tribe. It is said that there
was no particular cause for the dispute but that it was caused by women with
their gossip and encouragement of hostilities between the two brothers. The
fracture in the family relationship went beyond just the two brothers. Ali’s
son, Saleh, was married to Mohammed’s daughter and had 5 children with her. The
relationship was prone to problems and members of the tribe thought it was
likely to break up if the conflict between the parents continued. The young
couple had already begun to argue because of it.
In Aljwaf and in tribal areas, family
ties are very important and so it was unusual to see family members breaking
apart like this. Family members usually live in the same community, if not the
same house. Family and tribal ties are critical to the solidarity and union of
the tribe and hence its status and influence among other tribes. Many prominent
men quickly intervened to try to resolve the conflict, but with no luck.
Intervention:
Fatima Muhsen, early 50s, is Ali’s
ex-wife and Saleh’s mother. She was
alarmed by the developing dispute between the two brothers. Her son told her
that things had reached a dead-end with his father who refused any mediation to
reconcile with his brother. Fatima knew that if the situation continued to
escalate it would affect her son’s marriage so she decided to do something
about it.
Fatima didn’t want to go to Ali before
making sure Mohammed was on board for a solution to the conflict. Mohammed
agreed that he would be happy to welcome his brother back to the family and
reconcile with him. After that Fatima, along with Saleh, visited Ali in his new
home. “I came to you tallabah with a demand. I swear I am not
leaving your house until you agree to reconcile with your brother and go back
to your home”, said Fatima. What Fatima said is an expression used in tribal
areas that speaks to tribal values of generosity, hospitality and honor. An
honorable tribesman should honor the request of his guest especially if that
guest is a woman. In this case it was Ali’s ex wife and the mother of his son.
To forgive and compromise is considered an important demonstration of
hospitality. “You are so precious. I would give away all my children[9]”,
said Ali, an expression that indicates that he was honoring Fatima’s demand at
any cost. Fatima then sent her son to bring Mohammed to Ali’s house. The two
brothers reconciled in her presence and Ali moved back to his original home
with his tribe. Because of her intervention, the conflict was resolved after
about one and half years of dispute.
Fatima
has a long experience in resolving family and community conflicts. She
leveraged on the privileges that tribal traditions give to guests and women and
utilized that to put pressure on Ali to end the dispute with his brother and
convince him to return to his home tribe. The fact that she is related to the
men and that she is the mother of Ali’s son gave her an additional influence.
Case
Study 2: Aaliah stopped violent clashes between tribes and government
forces:
Context:
In
1998, there was a conflict between the government and the Aljedaan tribe. The
Aljedaan tribal area extends from Mareb governorate to the boarders of Aljawf
governorate. Armed
clashes erupted between government forces and the Aljedaan tribesmen.[10] A military backup was sent from Alhazm, the
main town in Alajwf, to help the government forces. As the backup convoy passed
by Arrawdh town, some armed men from Arrawdh fired bullets into the air. The
soldiers in the military convoy who did not know much about the geography of
the tribes there thought the Aljedaan were trying to ambush them and as a
response they fired back not only with guns but with heavy weapons at Arrawdh.
Tribesmen fired back killing two soldiers and the clashes intensified.
Intervention:
Aaliah
Ali Khaled Ben Shutaif, is an older woman in her tribe, the Alfuqman of
Arrawdh town in Aljawf. Aaliah was known for her courage. She descends from a well-known sheikhly
family and she is the sister of Mohammed ben Khaled ben Shutaif, a tribal
leader respected not only in Aljawf but also in all tribal areas in Yemen. “She
used to ride horses and she has a sword”, said her nephew Ali Alajji.
When
clashes between Alfoqman and government forces intensified, she decided to do
something about it. Aaliah went to the conflict zone to stop the clashes.
Tribesmen from her town tribe tried to stop her but she was determined. Carrying a bottle of water, she walked
towards the soldiers. Her tribesmen had to stop firing because they were afraid
they might shoot her by mistake. Government forces also stopped firing because
they saw a woman coming towards them. She offered water to the soldiers. “My
sons, there is a mistake here”, she said to the soldiers. She explained to the
soldiers that the few bullets that were shot in the air and triggered the
clashes were not aimed at attacking the soldiers. She told them that it is not
Aljedaan tribesmen who are firing but rather Alfuqman tribesmen and that
Alfuqman tribesmen fired back because the soldiers attacked them.
Aaliah
discovered that two soldiers were already killed. She spoke to the other
soldiers and convinced them that she would stop her men from firing and that
Alfuqman sheikhs would deal with the problem of the soldiers who were killed
once the clashes stopped. She went back to her tribesmen and told them to stop
firing at the soldiers. “They have two casualties. We have to fix this”, she
told her tribesmen.
Aaliah’s
effort helped eliminate the misunderstanding about the situation which led to
the violence. She also managed to stop the violent clashes and open a window
for tribal mediation. The situation would very likely have escalated with more
people killed had Aaliah not intervened.
Aaliah
took advantage of the protection that tribal tradition extends to women during
conflict. Her descent from a prominent sheikhly family also gave her more
leverage over her tribesmen which she used.
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Case
Study 3: Wardah and Fatima lead an effort to prevent a tribal conflict:
Context:
In 2010, President Saleh allocated a
monthly stipend to the sheikhs of Alajji family to show appreciation for their
efforts to facilitate government work and guarantee government vehicles safety
on the main road.[11]
The
Aal Atiq subtribe were upset that the president did not allocate a similar
stipend for them or at least a share of the Aal Alajji’s stipend. To pressure
the government, they started blocking the main road to prevent any government
vehicle or group from entering the governorate. They even appointed their own
sheikhs and announced that they were rejecting the leadership of Sheikh
Mohammed Alajji, who is the sheikh of the area. The situation intensified and
tension started building. A group of influential tribal leaders from the area
tried to intervene to convince Aal Atiq to lift the checkpoint that blocked the
main road but with no luck.
Intervention:
Fatima
Shajerah and Wardah Mejwer are two women who took part in the leadership
program on conflict-sensitive development organized by Partners Yemen in 2010.
During the program they learned conflict management and mediation skills to
complement traditional skills. As part of the program, they were to conduct
similar trainings for local leaders in their areas. The road block by Aal Atiq
tribesmen started while they were preparing for the local trainings. Fatima,
who originally comes from Mareb, didn’t like seeing the road block every time she
travelled to Aljawf. The two women decided to do something about this conflict.
They knew they had no chance to do anything directly but they were also aware
that they could mobilize certain individuals who have influence and who could
potentially resolve the situation. The two women intentionally included some
men from Aal Atiq and other influential local leaders in the training. Abdullah
ben Ali Atiq, from Aal Atiq, took part in the training and shared some of his
personal experience in conflict resolution with others.
Fatima
and Wardah took a two-way approach to this; Fatima had a conversation with
Abdullah Atiq to try to convince his tribesmen to end the roadblock. On the
other hand, Wardah talked to Hamad Shutaif, a local leader and local council
member who also took part in the training, to encourage him to intervene to
resolve the problem. As a local council member, Shutaif had good access to the
governor’s office. He led an effort with some local leaders and met with the
governor. Simultaneously, Abdullah Atiq who was very eager to engage in
conflict resolution after the training, managed to convince leaders from his
subtribe to agree to the mediation effort led by Shutaif. Negotiations took
place in the presence of the governor of Aljawf who promised to allocate some
jobs for the Aal Atiq family and that ended the road blockage.
Both
Fatima and Wardah took advantage of being in the public sphere and used some social
and political influence techniques to bring different actors who they thought
could influence the main conflict parties, Aal Atiq and the government. First,
they identified the conflict party that is causing the conflict, Aal Atiq. Then
they targeted one of the influential men in Aal Atiq in the training and worked
with him to influence his tribesmen. At the same time, they also identified and
approach a local council member who they knew had the potential to initiate a
negotiation process with Aal Atiq and resolve the conflict.
Conclusion:
These
case studies illustrate the fact that, contrary to the perception, women can
play a significant role in conflict. The question remaining is how this
understanding can be reflected in conflict programming that targets tribal
areas in Yemen? How can conflict resolution practitioners approach the issue of
integrating women’s role in conflict resolution activities while remaining
sensitive to the social and cultural dynamics? Women can work to facilitate and
advocate for peace. They can mobilize and put pressure on men and community
leaders to address existing conflicts. In addition, they can raise awareness
about the devastating impact of conflict on development. While an in depth
assessment is needed to come up with viable options to include women in
conflict resolution and development programs in general, a first step would be
to engage them in the design and implementation of these programs.
References:
·
Email
interview with Ali Saeed, local civil society leader from Aljawf, July 9, 2013
- Interview with Sheikh Ali Alajji, governorate council member in Aljawf, Sanaa, January 20, 2012, Sanaa.
- Group interview with women involved in resolving conflicts in Alkhalaq district, October 29,2011, Aljawf.
- Interview with Fatima Muhsen, female elder who is involved in resolving conflicts in her community, October 29, 2011, Aljawf.
- Interview with Sayyedah Alghanemiyah, female tribal leader, November, 2009, ALajwf
[1] PDCI and Partner Yemen, 2011, “Conflict
assessment: Mareb, Aljawf, Shabwa and Albaidha”.
[2] See “Yemen Poverty Assessment”, The Government of
Yemen, The World Bank and The United Nations Development Program, 2007, http://www.undp.org.ye/reports/Volume_I_Main_Report.pdf
[3] Government of Yemen, Ministry of Education Adult
Literacy Program, 2009, National report. Can be found at http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/INSTITUTES/UIL/confintea/pdf/National_Reports/Arab%20States/Yemen.pdf
[4] PDCI and Partner Yemen, 2011, “Conflict
assessment: Mareb, Aljawf, Shabwa and Albaidha”.
[5] “Interview with Abdulhameed Aamer”,
Marebpress-Arabic, 2008 http://marebpress.net/mobile/articles.php?id=3709&lng=arabic
[6] Huthis is a Shiite rebel group that revolted
against President Saleh regime in 2004 and subsequently the government launched
6 wars against them between 2004 and 2010.
[7] Email interview with Ali Saeed, July 9, 2013
[8] An interview the author did with Sayyedah
Alghanemiyah, 2009. Female leaders
[9] عليتي اجيب عيالي كلهم
[10] This paper is not concerned with the details of
the conflict between Aljedaan and the government.
[11]
Although this allocation was outside the
formal system, it was a common practice by the government to reward tribal
leaders who protect government interests in the area.
