WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN PRE- AND POST-UNIFICATION YEMEN: FROM RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE IN HADRAMOUT

Abstract

The political and social complexity of Yemen was inherited from two political systems. The tribal conservatism of North Yemen contrasted with the socialism of South Yemen. These two different systems were unified to create modern Yemen. Also, the civil war and frequent leadership changes complicated the social and political environment. Thus, the political participation of women was and continues to be impeded. In Yemen's political and social narratives, women in Hadramout, southeast Yemen, remain marginalized. There are no accounts of women's experiences within the political system in the history of Hadramout. Women's political participation in Hadramout before its independence from British occupation in 1967 and the civil war between the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, South Yemen and Yemen Arab Republic, North Yemen following Yemen's unification in 1994 remain poorly understood. Hence, to comprehend the factors that affected women's political participation, we must employ a feminist perspective to analyze the historical political paths of Hadrami women. It would be interesting to trace the steps of these women who were active in various fields and achieved parliamentary status during this period. Consequently, this study centered its data collection efforts on women as its primary resource. This study seeks to examine the lived experiences of formerly active women to comprehend what has changed and why from their point of view. This study investigates how the political changes that occurred in Yemen's history prior to, during, and after the country's unification affected the position of women. We would be better able to comprehend the present if we centered our understanding of women's political activism on these experiences. The primary research findings fall into three categories: the state system, family and social environment, and self-motivation.