Human Rights Network Reports 5,282 Houthi Violations Against Yemeni Women Over 8 Years

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms has documented 5,282 violations committed by the Iran-backed Houthis against women in Yemen between January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2024, across 17 provinces. The findings, released in a report marking International Women’s Day (March 8), underscore a pattern of systematic abuse amid Yemen’s ongoing conflict.

According to the report, the violations include 1,466 killings and 3,379 injuries caused by artillery shelling, landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), sniper attacks, and indiscriminate gunfire. Additionally, 547 cases of kidnapping, enforced disappearance, and torture were recorded in 12 provinces.

The network highlighted that 69 women were forcibly taken to secret prisons, with some subjected to enforced disappearance for periods ranging from three months to a year before their detention sites were revealed. Dozens remain missing, including 47 cases in the Capital (Amanat Al-Asimah), 13 in Sanaa, and 9 in Hodeidah.

The report accuses the Houthis of persistently targeting women through indiscriminate attacks on residential areas, even in regions distant from active combat zones. It emphasized that nearly every Yemeni family has been directly or indirectly affected by such violations over the past decade.

The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms urged the international community and the UN Security Council to fulfill their legal obligations, stressing the need for accountability and protection for Yemeni women. It criticized the lack of global action against the Houthi’s crimes, which continue unabated.