الجمعة 29-03-2024 15:20:48 م : 19 - رمضان - 1445 هـ
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Sarah Qassem, the political official in the Women’s Department in the Islah Party in Taiz, told alislah-ye.net: The Islahian woman has a major role in confronting the Houthi coup and normalizing life in the city of Taiz

الثلاثاء 06 يوليو-تموز 2021 الساعة 04 مساءً / alislah-ye.net - Exclusive

 

The political official in the Women's Department in the Yemeni Islah Party in Taiz Governorate, Sarah Qassem Haytham, said that Yemeni women, especially the Islahi women, have taken the lead in confronting the coup, restoring the state and confronting what threatens the gains of the September and October revolutions, and the present and future of Yemen.

In a press interview with alislah-ye.net, she explained that these roles varied in the intellectual field to confront the Houthi ideology that is intruding on our Yemeni society or the political, media, social and relief fields, and that they have a prominent role in the logistical aspect to support and provide the resistance with everything.

Qassem referred to the popular movement in Taiz and considered it a very important sign indicating the vigilance and health of society.

She called on all political and social components in Yemen to work according to the principle of difference and acceptance of the other, in order to bring the diaspora together and face the challenges.

Interview text:

- In the beginning, where did the Islahian women reach?

- First of all, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to shed light on the Women’s Department in the Yemeni Islah Party of the Governorate of Taiz and its activities in the Governorate.

The role of women in the Islah Party was limited at first, but with the passage of time, the Islahian women gradually became involved in partisan work and were included in the preparatory committee, in the constituent body and as an attached office in the General Secretariat of the Yemeni Islah Party. When the interaction of women and the expansion of the work base continued until it reached the smallest organizational unit in the center and the division, an office was established in the General Secretariat of the Islah Party called the "Women's Office", then it evolved into the Women's Sector. Based on the organizational, quantitative and leadership expansion in the Women's Sector, this necessitated the creation of the Women's Department as one of the Departments of the General Secretariat of the Yemeni Islah Party and its branches in the Governorates, Directorates and Branches.

- How do Islahian women practice their partisan activities?

 

- The Islahian women practice their partisan activity based on the importance of the role they must play, whether it is educational, media, political or social... Etc., and therefore the Party was keen to rehabilitate women according to a well-known organizational methodology to make them earn with the skills required to take charge with merit and good performance, and thus the Islahian women become effective members of society able to interact well in their social environment and this is what happened.

The Women’s Department of the Taiz Islah Party runs its organizational and partisan tasks in parallel and integrated with the Governorate’s Executive Office.

 

- The Islahian women in Taiz in particular, and the Taizi woman in general, have played great roles during the past years in the battle to end the coup and restore the state, and have made huge sacrifices... - Can you mention their most prominent national stances and roles?

Since the outbreak of the war that we were forced into by the brutal coup carried out by the Houthi group, Yemeni women in general and Isalhian women, in particular, could not be able to stand by and watch this brutal priestly aggression that threatened the gains of the September and October revolutions and threatened the present and future of Yemen. Women took the lead in confronting that coup, first, through a deep understanding of the danger of that coup and their belief in the justice of the national cause of Yemen, and secondly, by restoring the state from the coup, which is an extension of the Iranian project that threatens the region. Accordingly, these roles have multiplied and their forms have varied, whether in the intellectual field to counter the intrusive Houthi ideology on our Yemeni society or in the political, media, social and relief fields. In addition, women have a prominent role in the logistical aspect to support and provide the resistance with everything they need to confront this coup. They also had a prominent national role in helping the wounded and the families of the martyrs.

- What are the most important difficulties facing partisan work for women in Taiz?

- The most severe difficulties facing women's work are the war and the siege imposed on the city and the repercussions it has on the social, political, security and economic levels. Therefore, we in the Women's Department seek to work according to what is available in light of the siege that has divided the Governorate into two parts and with which it is difficult to work with. We are facing social challenges as a result of a social situation that was formed due to the war represented by the instability that greatly affected the cracking in the social structure of Taiz Governorate and the insecurity in some aspects, and therefore we seek to address these repercussions and imbalances through national social and educational programs.

The Islah Party was and still is at the head of the political forces in the Governorate that faced the Houthi project and small projects and the defense of the national project,so what is the role of women in this regard?

- Yes, the Islahian woman had a focused role in confronting the coup. Also, after defeating the Houthis from the city’s Directorates, the Islahian woman's role was continuing in confronting phenomena outside the rule of law, in normalizing life in the city of Taiz, empowering state institutions and supporting those institutions that, through strengthening them, all small projects and uncontrolled phenomena will disappear automatically, and therefore this has been achieved in varying proportions, and their role continues to do so.

In fact, the role of women, whether individual or collective, or through initiatives or institutions in this battle, came as a surprise to the leadership of the Islah Party and to all those concerned, whether in Taiz or outside, where the Islahian women initiated with their available capabilities and without any hesitation to confront the coup and harnessed all their capabilities in this confrontation to stand with all merit, to stand with the man, shoulder to shoulder, in a row to confront the war and the siege and their repercussions on Taiz in several areas, which is still today.

The Islahian women have sought to highlight the reality of the Houthi threat and have been at the fore in the narrow projects threatening Taiz through their political and media activities and through the Guidance Department. The Islahian women sought to reveal the truth of the Houthi ideology and its danger to the present and future of Yemen, and this undoubtedly formed a societal awareness and assembling around the importance of confronting the coup with the importance of the presence, support and empowerment of state institutions.

- Our words are about the suffering of women in Taiz in general in light of the continuation of the stifling siege and efforts to lift the siege.

- Undoubtedly, the siege imposed on Taiz for more than six years, in addition to the repeated bombardment by Houthi militias on the city's various neighborhoods, all constituted a heavy burden on the woman as she is a mother, housewife, sister or... etc. The women’s suffering was doubled, as they bore the bulk of the repercussions of that Houthi aggression and its siege on Taiz in various aspects of life. However, they did not give up, but rather remained coherent and worked with all their energy and capabilities to adapt to the new situation and position themselves in the face of the burdens of economic, social and security life. And with the continuation of the siege and its repercussions for the seventh year in a row, it became imperative for all regional, local and international powers to work to lift this siege and address all the damages resulting from it.

- How do you evaluate the UN role in the issue of lifting the siege on Taiz?

- The major problem that Yemen suffers from is the military coup, which is criminalized by all United Nations charters and local and international laws. And according to all those international references, this coup constitutes - without a doubt - a threat to peace and security in the region. Instead of confronting the coup by the UN role, it tends - unfortunately - to delve into detailed internal issues, thus diverting the compass from ending the coup to dwarfing the issue and dividing it into secondary issues such as the issue of Hodeidah and its port and the Stockholm Agreement.

Unfortunately, the UN role was and is still far from the aspirations of the Yemenis in ending this coup and ending human suffering. On the issue of lifting the siege on Taiz and ending the suffering of civilians, a mere real and honest role was enough to end the coup, return the internationally recognized legitimate government to Sanaa, and sponsor the completion of the transitional political phase. Consequently, through our follow-up to the various rounds of negotiations, we did not perceive an honest and real UN role towards the Houthi siege on Taiz, and if we want to evaluate that role based on the United Nations charters regarding international laws during the conflict or human rights charters or others, we will find disappointment and weakness.

Therefore, the UN side must implement all those covenants that undoubtedly criminalize this blockade. Accordingly, forcing the coup forces to lift the siege on civilians. Therefore, through this dialogue, we send a message to the United Nations and hold it legal, moral and historical responsibility for the continuation of this siege and its dangerous humanitarian repercussions of the constant bombing of civilians and human suffering at all levels for which we do not find any justification is nothing but a flagrant violation of human rights and the right to life.

- How did the women in Taiz in general, and the Islahian women in particular, contribute to alleviating the deterioration of the humanitarian situation?

- The role of Yemeni women in Taiz was distinguished and appreciated, and it focused on mitigating the deterioration of the humanitarian situation and the role of the Islahian women was in this regard, where Islahian women sought to establish various initiatives and institutions through which they sought to implement projects aimed at alleviating the impact of war, whether relief, educational or developmental. Their tangible and distinguished role was to support the families of the martyrs and the wounded by sponsoring orphans, treating the wounded and sending them abroad for treatment.

And here specifically, we mention the role of the Islahian women in establishing educational initiatives, when the educational process stopped completely after the outbreak of the war. The credit for the students' return to school is due to the educational initiatives established by the Islahian women, which were the first humanitarian work. Through this, the Islahian women have sought to return students to school, and this was a direct reason to open schools and try to normalize educational life in Taiz, and this is what has actually been achieved, praise be to God.

- What are the demands of women and people in general in Taiz from the government, political parties and the international community?

- The demands of women and people in particular in Taiz and Yemen, in general, are to end this brutal coup, lift and end the siege, prosecute those responsible internationally and locally, achieve transitional justice, return to what the Yemenis agreed on in the Comprehensive National Dialogue Conference document and complete the transitional political phase in order to get Yemen out from the tunnel of war and conflicts to building the new federal Yemen.

Consequently, women hope that the legitimate government, political parties and all Yemeni and social components to pay attention to achieving the aspirations of Yemenis, disassociate themselves from all opposition and stop being dependent on external projects that do not serve the country but rather seek to fragment it. We hope that the legitimate government will be up to its historical, constitutional and moral responsibility and take the matter firmly under the goal of restoring the Yemeni state, working to gather all those Yemeni components under its umbrella on a gathering and comprehensive national basis, and turn towards ending the coup and building the new federal Yemen.

- Recently, Taiz witnessed popular protests against corruption and demanding the dismissal of the corrupt.. What is your role in this?

- What we see of a societal movement against corruption and the corrupt is a very important sign that indicates the vigilance and health of society, and therefore we strongly support the popular movement that Taiz is witnessing in form and substance, especially since Taiz offered many martyrs, wounded and huge sacrifices for the sake of the homeland. And those sacrifices are still going on. We should not first - as revolutionaries who went out against a corrupt regime and then confronted the coup - allow or accept a corrupt regime that leads the leadership of the local authority through its Executive Offices.

At a time when we understand the repercussions of the war on all state institutions in Taiz, where all executive offices and state institutions, in general, were emptied of their cadres, their contents were stolen and the databases of some of those offices were looted, and the local authority’s attempt with political parties in 2016 to normalize life in Taiz by making efforts in Re-establishing work in these institutions from scratch, we may understand imbalances that occur here or there due to these repercussions, but it is not possible in any way and under any pretext, whether the pretext of war or others, for these imbalances to continue, and we cannot accept a system of corruption that was reflected in the lack of basic services such as water, electricity, health, hygiene and others.

As for our role in this field, we are with the existing political parties, we work within the Taiz Consultation Council and work according to policies that serve the service path of the community to identify defects and corruption, expose this system, and pressure towards referring corruption files to the Public Funds Prosecution through the specified legal methods and then deciding on them judicially and prosecuting the corrupt. We, with all the political parties participating with the local authority, hope to work sincerely to eradicate this system of corruption and replace it in a manner that achieves good governance and achieves high transparency in order to achieve all the services required for citizens.

- Did the Women's Department in the Yemeni Islah Party in Taiz contribute to the revitalization and activation of political life in recent times? And what are the highlights of what you are doing for it?

- Yes, we in the Women’s Department seek to communicate with all women leaders in political parties and activists. We were also able to hold more than one meeting, one of which was extensive, and the other was dedicated to the leaders of women’s parties. The aim of these meetings was to bring the views closer and remove psychological barriers, partisan sensitivity and work to unite women's efforts in the face of the Houthi coup.

Despite the obstacles and difficulties that we faced and are still facing, we seek to have a role in getting out of the current crises and for the leading women to have a unified political role towards major national issues and towards Taiz. What we need most today is the unification of all efforts and capabilities. Praise be to God, we found a great interaction from women leaders in the political parties in Taiz, and through our activity in the Taiz Consultation Council, which includes a party and feminist leaders, we seek with some women leaders to that our meetings be periodic and continuous, including programs through which we contribute to serving Taiz.

- What do Islahian women in Taiz aspire to achieve during the next stage?

- In the Women's Department in the Yemeni Islah Party, we aspire to end the siege imposed wrongfully on Taiz, to complete the normalization of life in Taiz, to work on building state institutions and to create a new environment of partisan work free of inter-conflicts. Also, we and the women leaders in political action partners in other parties aspire to crystallize national visions and then seek to embody them on the ground through programs that are compatible with our national interests. We hope that the brothers in the partisan leaders will actively support these efforts in a way that serves the national cause, restore the state, build its institutions, and work to achieve the goal of the existence of the parties and their purpose is to serve the homelands through competitive programs.

* What would you like to add at the end of this interview?

Yes, at the end of this dialogue I would like to point out that the Islamic perception - which constitutes the ideological, intellectual and cultural dimension of the Yemeni Islah Party - is based on two rules: The first rule is the oneness of the Creator, Glory be to Him, and the second rule is the plurality of creation, for God Almighty established life on the law of marriage, where the Almighty said: “And of everything, We have created two pairs, that you may remember,” in a clear indication that the difference is one of God’s laws in the universe and the necessities of human society, and we must liberate the issue of the difference between us as political parties on that basis (the oneness of the Creator and the multiplicity of creation). God Almighty described the phenomenon of difference on the verse, where he said: “And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are Signs for those who know.” So, the difference expresses the phenomenon of pluralism.

Also, all rules, humanities and knowledge agreed that difference is one of the most prominent features of human existence, and it is a factor of wealth and fertility, not a factor of fighting and hostility. And our Islamic religion has identified all kinds of pluralism throughout its history, where there is sectarian, intellectual, civilizational, kinetic, partisan and other pluralism.

And here, I call on all the political and social components in Yemen to work according to the principle of difference and to accept the other party with its difference and let us know that no one possesses the absolute truth at all, which each party claims to own, but some of us possess varying percentages of the truth.

In light of the understanding of the difference and the disparity in the proportions of truth, we can gather our diaspora and face the challenges that beset us and our country Yemen, and thus gather efforts and crystallize visions among all components on a national basis that becomes more clear and realistic. This cannot be achieved at a time when some of us are dependent on external forces that are masking all evil against us and against our country Yemen.

I am sending a message to everyone that the struggle of six years and more is sufficient to know the shortcomings and mistakes that fall on everyone’s responsibility to avoid and fix them, and for everyone should turn towards restoring Yemen from the clutches of the coup, and let us return to the ballot boxes, as a judge between us, that will translate political programs in a way that is beneficial to the country, and it is Allah (alone) Whose help can be sought.

كلمات دالّة

#Yemen #Taiz