Yemeni women protest over president's 'degrading' remarks

[News_Editor]

Yemeni women protest over president's 'degrading' remarks

2011-04-17 01:42:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANAA, YEMEN (BNO NEWS) -- Thousands of Yemeni women on Saturday took to the streets of Sana'a and other cities to reject President Ali Abdullah Saleh's remarks that it is un-Islamic for women to participate in protests.

CNN reported that women marched toward the attorney general's office to demand legal action for what they called the president's attacks on their morality. In a short speech Friday, Saleh said that female participation in anti-government protests was a violation of Yemeni cultural norms that prohibit women mixing with men who are not direct relatives.

"Saleh has finally shown the world his real face and his hatred against women," said Tawakkol Karman, a leading member of Islah, the largest opposition party in Yemen.

"Women have ruled Yemen on numerous occasions throughout Yemen's history" she said. "That is why he has tried to oppress women for the 33 years he has been in power."

According to CNN, Yemen's largest opposition bloc rejected Saleh's stance against women, saying Islam grants women more rights. Likewise, the conservative tribal coalition of Mareb and Jawf said that tribal culture has always given women the right to lead if they so desire.

The government said protesters "misused" Saleh's comments, saying that it was believed that the opposition was using women and youth to promote their own agenda, and not the greater good of Yemen.

Meanwhile, the state-run Saba news agency reported that the women marched in support of constitutional legitimacy and President Ali Abdullah Saleh. It added that demonstrators arrived at the headquarters of the U.S. embassy in Sana'a to hand over a letter to the U.S. ambassador, in which they urged the U.S. to support the democracy and the peaceful rotation of power in Yemen through elections.

Recently, women have shown their faces in greater numbers during the anti-government rallies. Protests erupted in Yemen this week despite an attempt by Persian Gulf nations to decrease tensions. Members of the opposition reiterated that they would reject any proposal that did not call for Saleh's immediate ouster.

According to the UN, it is estimated that the recent political turmoil in Yemen has led to more than 100 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

President Saleh has blamed the unrest on a foreign agenda and added that some hostile media outlets have exaggerated about the situation in Yemen.

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