Huthis impose harsh morals campaign: Yemen cafes shut, women harassed

Dubai: The Huthi rebels arrived without warning, heavily armed and in a furious mood, as they barged into Ophelia, the only cafe for women in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, and demanded it be shut down immediately.

When owner Shaima Mohammed asked for a little time to allow her customers to gather their things, one of the Huthis snapped at her, “Women should be in their homes. Why are they going out in public?” Shaima recounted in a Facebook post as she announced the cafe's closure, "Armed men filled the street, directing obscenities at the women as they left.

The tense incident, one of a series in the rebel-held north, illustrates the Huthis' determination to impose their own moral order on Yemenis who have already endured five years of grinding conflict. Much of the crackdown has been rolled out without any official decree or documentation

“The situation in Huthi-controlled areas is getting tighter and tighter, People are scared.”

Nadwa Al-Dawsari, Yemeni conflict analyst

She confirmed accounts of women being harassed for wearing belts around their traditional abaya robes, with rebels tearing them off, saying the silhouette they create is too “exciting”.

The Huthi campaign collides with a society which, although conservative, traditionally allowed space for individual freedoms and cultivated an appreciation of music and leisure, said Adel al-Ahmadi, a Yemeni academic.

The militia, which rose up in the 1990s over alleged sectarian discrimination, hail from the minority Zaidi Shiite sect of Islam which makes up about one-third of the population.

Witnesses in Sanaa spoke of a rising number of disturbing incidents since late 2019, a period which has also seen the Huthis rack up battlefield victories and crank up a confrontation with UN agencies attempting to deliver humanitarian aid.

Amid the ongoing unrest, Valentine's Day was banned and huge ruckus was created in the public places. young people were beaten in the street for failing to comply with the new notions of acceptable dress.

Unlike the days before the conflict, when people were free to celebrate with chocolates and flowers, one young man had his red shirt torn off by assailants who saw it as a symbol of an event that runs counter to Yemeni values.

Young men who fell foul of the rule with longer styles have been hauled onto major intersections where their locks were publicly chopped back with large scissors.

Huthis have also campaigned in schools and on college campuses against young people being “improperly dressed” said Hemdane al-Ali, a journalist and human rights activist who lives in self-exile.