Originally posted to The Middle East Monitor website, 8 March 2022
Deputy Head of the European Union Mission to Yemen, Marion Lallis, said yesterday that Yemen is “one of the most difficult countries in the world for women”, Anadolu reported.
On the eve of International Women’s Day, Lallis said: “The participation of women and men is essential to achieving peace and sustainable development in the country”, emphasising the EU’s commitment to “empowering Yemeni women in all fields.”
“All EU projects in Yemen in particular focus on empowering women. The European Union supports a stronger presence of Yemeni women in senior government positions, the peace process and the economy,” she added.
Impoverished Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014, when the Houthis overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.
The war, in which the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) back the Saudi-led coalition, has claimed the lives of more than 377,000 Yemenis and left 80 per cent of the population – about 30 million people – dependent on aid to survive, according to UN data.
As of the end of 2021, the war has led to $126 billion in losses to the country’s economy.
