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The impact of War.. The role of Women in Building Peace.. Required Interventions

The Editorial

Since the escalation of conflict and war, women in Yemen can said to be the most affected group in the society. These conditions have imposed a new reality on women and re-determined their roles and lifestyles, as they add on to the already existing difficulties and challenges. In addition to the traditional roles played by women, they had to shoulder burdens beyond their capacities in order to maintain economic and social cohesion in the community, including participation efforts to achieve social peace or peace in general. Since the conflict and war broke out, and because of poor living and economic conditions, many Yemenis decided to leave the country in search of better jobs overseas, while many others died directly or indirectly due to the war. All these factors triggered significant changes in the lifestyles of Yemeni women, including new economic and social problems that did not exist in the past, forcing women to go out to the labor market to secure livelihoods, as they had to bear the burden of supporting their families and endure harsh conditions as a result of displacement and struggle for survival.

Although some studies on gender inequality are available in Yemen, as well as how the war has negatively affected women, yet, their focus was narrow in scope or geographically limited. These data are often general in nature – or may be outdated – and are based on limited samples. Besides, policies often neglect the repercussions and difficulties women face because of conflict and war unintentionally. Given the diverse gender dynamics in Yemen shaped by multiple factors, there is a real need to study the impact of conflict and war on women and to enhance their role in building peace and security matters. Therefore, this issue of the YSEU Bulletin seeks to explore the full extent of impacts brought by the ongoing conflict and war, and to raise awareness on these effects on women and their lifestyles. Moreover, the instinctive resilience demonstrated by Yemeni women is worth feeding into policy interventions and recommendations to promote their resilience, address the needs of women directly, and mitigate the impact of conflict and war on them. It also sheds light on the impact and repercussions of war and conflict on women in Yemen both economically and socially. Meanwhile, national mechanisms pertaining to women empowerment, including proposed interventions regarding economic and social empowerment and their role in building peace, shall also be enhanced.