Yemeni women

Impact of the unification on Yemeni Women

Current Yemen is the unification of two countries witch had different and conflicting attitudes towards women. It is beyond the scope of this paper to draw any descriptive conclusions about the effect of unification on women in Yemen. However this paper will make conclusions based on a general overview of the impact of unification on women in Yemen.

Before making any suggestions, implications or judgements about any aspect of a developing country the history of that developing country must be uncovered. Discovering the history also gives invaluable insight on why the situation is as it stands and as a result what can be realistically done to improve the situation.

In the late 1960s, the British withdrew from the south of Yemen and the country's economy was on the verge of ruin. The new People's Republic of South Yemen, which came into being on 30 November 1967, relied heavily on economic support from Communist countries. In 1970 the republic's name was changed to the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen. Mutual distrust between the two Yemeni countries led to a series of short border wars in 1972, 1978 and 1979. Under Ali Abdullah Salah in the late seve

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Ignoring the legislature, the Presidential Council issued a personal status law to regulate marriages and divorces. On May 22 1990 that the merger was made official. "Women wearing normal dresses may not be looked at with respect by some," says Abd al-Wahab al-Ainsi, the deputy prime minister. The Shafi'i areas are more orthodox in their interpretations of the shari'a.

In reaction to the personal status law group of women, supported by lawyers and civil rights activists, held a demonstrations. A constitution had been drafted by the end of 1981 in order to implement a merger between the two states. " Many people in Yemen believe that the veil protects women from the violence, including rape, which they see Western women as susceptible to. Unification

The Republic of Yemen is located at the bottom of the Arabian Peninsula(see map). If the court finds in favour of a separation then the women has custody of boys until they are seven and girls until they are 10. The personal status law was basically a reproduction of the former YAR law with a few changes. The GUYW organizing some demonstrations but did little lobbying to secure or protect women's rights. The interpretation of shari 'a, in the Zaidi areas is more favorable to women than in the Shafi'i regions.

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**Bibliography**

Before the unification many women in the southern areas did not cover up but after unification legislation was passed to force the ways of the north onto the liberal south.

Approximate Word count = 1415
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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