Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized THE STATUS OF YEMENI WOMEN: From Aspiration Public Disclosure Authorized to Opportunity Public Disclosure Authorized The Status of Yemeni Women: From Aspiration to Opportunity February, 2014 Contents Foreword from the Advisory Committee . v Acknowledgements................................................................vii Executive Summary . ix 1. Times of Unrest, Transition and Hope..............................................1 2. Methodology and Country Context................................................3 Study Methodology .............................................................3 Country Context: Cumulative Crises . .4 The Evolution of Yemen’s Legal Framework..........................................7 3. What Explains the Large Gender Gaps in Education? ................................11 Schooling still distant dream for many . .11 Education Valued: Work, Social Status, Personal Development and Autonomy.............17 Who decides? The powerful influence of fathers and brothers ...........................18 The gap between aspirations and reality ............................................18 4. Limited Autonomy within the Family . .23 Married too young . .23 Limited voice in decisions about marriage . .27 Limited control over fertility and risky childbearing . .29 Violence against women under-reported, and with little redress for resolving disputes . .32 The stigma of divorce ...........................................................34 5. The Strong Normative Boundaries and Status that Surround Jobs.......................35 Weak and Restricted Labor Markets...............................................35 Scarce choices in the countryside..................................................37 Urban outlets a bit more promising................................................39 Few opportunities for entrepreneurship, and little access to finance . .41 iii iv THE STATUS OF YEMENI WOMEN: FROM ASPIRATION TO OPPORTUNITY 6. Building Blocks towards Improved Wellbeing and Inclusion ...........................45 Invest in human development and expand access to quality education and health care . .46 Delivering quality education...................................................46 Investing in maternal and child health...........................................48 Expand productive economic opportunities . .49 Bring Justice Home ............................................................51 Establish peace and security, and move quickly to address development emergencies . 53 A challenging road ahead........................................................55 References .......................................................................57 Annex 1: Methodology Note on Global Qualitative Assessment . .63 Annex 2: Policy Interventions: Some Examples from Other Countries . .67 Foreword from the Advisory Committee his study attempts to understand gender The present study details the challenges and propos- gaps in Yemen and understand their causes es the policies and actions needed to create a more with a particular focus on women’s engage- equal footing for women, be it in terms of accessing Tment in economic activity. Very few Yemeni women health, education and other services, or in terms of participate in the labor market. The majority of the world of work, or that of political and civic life. women who work, especially rural women, work without pay, in the informal sector, on farms, or in Some of the most significant outcomes of the Na- family enterprises. Despite significant gains in hu- tional Dialogue process have been steps in the right man development, Yemeni girls lag far behind boys direction: proposing a minimum age of marriage in education levels, and women continue to have of 18 years, mandated representation of women in limited access to reproductive health care. All these political bodies of at least 30 percent, and criminal- gaps are particularly stark in rural areas. izing violence against women. In the end, to make a real difference will require political will, and also We believe that economic empowerment of women a significant change in the behavior and view of the is the key to breaking this vicious cycle. The pro- community of the role of women in society, and cess of women’s inclusion in economic activity starts perhaps most of all, in how women view themselves. with girls’ education, promoting girls’ retention in Without these, Yemeni women will not be able to schools, defining a legal minimum age of marriage fully participate in the national economy and in the and supporting rural households in particular in process of reconstruction and development, and the breaking the traps of illiteracy, poor health, and lim- aspirations of half of Yemen will remain unrealized. ited economic opportunities. Advisory Committee: Despite the significant role played by women in Amat Al Alim Alsoswa the events of February 2011, real progress in on the Dr. Intelak Al-Mutawakkil ground, remains a distant dream. Thekra Al-Naqib Prof. Dr. Fuad Al-Salahi v Acknowledgements he core team comprises Nandini Krishnan This report draws on new insights from the rapid (Task Team Leader and Senior Econo- qualitative assessments on gender and economic de- mist, MNSED), Tara Vishwanath (Lead cision-making that were carried out as background TEconomist, MNSED), Sabria Al-Thwar (Con- for the WDR 2012 in 20 countries. The team thanks sultant, MNSED), Tazeen Hasan (ET Consul- Carolyn Turk, Ana Maria Munoz Boudet and Patti tant, PRMGE), Nga Nguyen (now Consultant, Petesch who worked with us to refine the qualitative AFTPM), Patti Petesch and Angelica Thumala. instruments and supported training for fieldwork. Some of the quantitative analysis in this report Qualitative fieldwork was led by the Yemeni Wom- draws on the MENA region’s companion report en’s Union and took place during the momentous to the World Bank’s World Development Report month of January 2011. The quality and richness of (WDR) 2012, “Opening Doors: Gender Equality the qualitative findings are a testament to the com- in the Middle East and North Africa”, and the team mitment and hard work of the team at the Yemeni thanks everyone who contributed to the analyses in Women’s Union. The team especially thanks the late the report. The quantitative analysis in this report Ramzia Aleyrani and Mai Abdulmalik. To the men on Yemen consists of fresh analysis of the House- and women, youths and adolescents who generously hold Budget Survey (HBS) 2004/2005; World De- participated in the focus groups at a time of turmoil velopment Indicators, Arab Barometer surveys, as we are most grateful. Thanks also to Sarah Nedolast well as nationally representative data collected in (PRMGE) for providing inputs into Annex 2. 2010 on the Status of Women in The Middle East and North Africa (SWMENA 2011), which includ- Many thanks to peer reviewers Nistha Sinha (Se- ed Yemen. We are grateful to Rola Abdul-Latif with nior Economist, ECSP3), Nina Bhatt (Senior So- the International Foundation for Electoral Systems cial Development Specialist, MNSSO) and Wil- (IFES) and Jane Henrici at the Institute for Wom- fried Engelke (formerly Senior Country Economist en’s Policy Research (IWPR) for making the dataset for Yemen, and currently Financial Advisor to the available on the Status of Women in the Middle East Embassy of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of and North Africa (SWMENA). We would also like Germany in Portugal), and other colleagues who to thank Sarah Iqbal, Garam Dexter and the rest of provided invaluable feedback. The team gratefully the Women Business and the Law team and Mary acknowledges the support of Bernard Funck (act- Hallward-Driemeier (Lead Economist, DECFP) for ing Sector Director, MNSPR) and Manuela Fer- their support in providing the global time series da- ro (Director, Strategy and Operations, LCRVP). taset on the legal framework and analysis on Yemen. We thank Hartwig Schaffer (Country Director, vii viii THE STATUS OF YEMENI WOMEN: FROM ASPIRATION TO OPPORTUNITY MNC03) and Wael Zakout (Country Manager, Al-Naqib and Prof. Dr. Fuad Al-Salahi for contrib- MNCYE) for their enthusiasm and support for uting the foreword, advising the team and provid- analytical work on gender in informing dialogue ing valuable insights. A special thanks to Samra and operations. Shaibani, Maria Victor Handal and the team at the World Bank’s Sanaa office for their dedication and And last but by no means the least; we thank the support. The team gratefully acknowledges Yahya Advisory Committee for this report: Amat Al Al- Al-Hasani for painstakingly translating this report im Alsoswa, Dr. Intelak Al-Mutawakkil, Thekra into Arabic. Executive Summary emen is setting out on a path of transforma- and Development, and the regional report on gen- tion, as are other countries in the Middle der equality, Opening Doors: Gender Equality in the East and North Africa. These periods can Middle East and North Africa. The report’s analytic beY times of opportunity for building more inclusive approach is unique in threading together three bod- societies and economies, or times of great risk and ies of evidence and analysis to shed new light on regression in past gains. significant trends and causes underpinning the large gender disparities in the country. The report pres- Year after year Yemen ranks last or near last in global ents: i) a fresh look at available survey data on hu- indices of gender gaps and female empowerment. man development and socio-economic