Following in the footsteps of the Taliban.. The Houthis persecute Yemeni university students
English - Monday 20 February 2023 الساعة 09:31 am
Sana'a, NewsYemen, exclusive:
A state of great disapproval and shock experienced by the male and female students of Dhamar University, after the presidency of the university, which is loyal to the Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen, dismissed a number of their colleagues from the Faculty of Engineering, on the grounds of their demand for their right in the aspect of scientific application.
Since the beginning of February, the students of the Faculty of Engineering, specifically the students of the Mechatronics Department, have carried out legitimate protests to demand their right to obtain the scientific and practical aspect of application, which is estimated at 70% in the department.
According to the sources, the students carried out a peaceful protest at the College of Engineering, but the response was harsh from the presidency of the University of Dhamar, which is loyal to the Houthis, which issued a decision to dismiss 6 students on the grounds of their participation and leadership in the protests demanding their educational and academic rights.
College students and academics were surprised by the arbitrary measure against students, explaining that what was done by the Presidency of Dhamar University and the Deanship of the College of Engineering at the university is an act that violates the law, and no Yemeni college or university has ever implemented such punishment against students who demanded their right to education and did not commit a crime calling for their dismissal from the university.
The engineering students emphasized that the aim behind the students' dismissal is to try to curb the students' protests, demanding their right to obtain a normal education, which restricts and strengthens them before entering the labor market. They explained that the university presidency and the deanship of the college ignore the educational problems they suffer from, not finding a solution to the issue of the mechatronics department, or providing a specialized educational cadre for this department, and evading the pledges they made, represented in providing laboratories and specialized staff for the mechatronics department.
They pointed out that the deanship of the college and the university secretariat had postponed the final exams in all departments of the college until after Eid al-Fitr. With the aim of causing strife among the students and betting on the educational process by extending it, they are not interested in the students and without a sense of responsibility or remorse, which may entail burdens and suffering for the students due to the postponement.
The students of the College of Engineering stressed the need to implement their basic demands, cancel the arbitrary decisions that were taken against their colleagues, and implement the exams on time before the month of Ramadan, vowing to escalate if their demands were not met.
Continuous narrowing
A state of chaos in Yemeni universities under the control of the Houthis between repressive and arbitrary measures against male and female students, especially after the Houthi militia formed components that became known as the Alumni Club or the University Student Forum and other components that are now tightening the screws on male and female students and with the blessing of the university presidency appointed by the Houthis .
Yemeni universities were not spared from the package of violations. With the invasion of Sana'a and the control of Iran's arm over the state, the influence of the Houthi militia expanded and tightened its control within educational facilities significantly. This enabled it after the exclusion of academic leaders and the replacement of leaders loyal to its sectarian project as a result of modifying many educational and academic curricula, introducing additional religious courses and obliging college students to take them. Not to mention the recruitment and mobilization operations practiced by the militias among the students under many temptations in exchange for throwing them into the crematoriums of death by sending them to the battle fronts. The Presidency of Public Universities also imposed many actions that violate the procedures and laws regulating the work of Yemeni universities and clamped down on students to alienate them from their universities as part of the plan to destroy the educational sector pursued by the extremist group since the first moment of its invasion of Sanaa.
Arbitrary actions
What happened at the University of Dhamar is not better than what is happening at the University of Hodeidah, which is also under the control of the Houthis, where female students are subjected to harassment and arbitrary measures by the university presidency or the student oversight components established by the Houthi militia to monitor male and female students and clamp down on them.
The university administration issued decisions and directives that oblige female students to wear a uniform type of abaya and baltooh, in addition to preventing sitting in cafes inside the university, as well as procedures related to sitting in halls and entering colleges.
A female student at the Faculty of Fine Arts said that she was threatened by the university administration and the Student Forum - an entity within the university loyal to the Houthis - after she wore an "abaya other than black". I explain that the threat also affected many female students in the Faculties of Fine Arts and Letters, related to the colors of the gowns they wear.
She pointed out that the circulars issued at the university required them to wear long robes and prevent them from sitting in the cafe for university students, as well as preventing them from entering the university through the same gate as their fellow students.
These measures coincided with the formation of the "Zainabiyyat" squad - Houthi women's militias - inside the University of Hodeidah in order to monitor female students and search their bags to find out their contents and not to bring toiletries to the university, explaining that the university administration has given wide powers to these teams under what they call the confrontation of soft war.
And the administration of the University of Hodeidah, in previous sectarian events it held, had confirmed that it would take measures and decisions that would enhance the "faith identity" within the university's faculties.
Terrorist match
Academic sources at the University of Hodeidah said that there are Houthi decisions and directives that are very similar to those adopted by the Taliban movement against female students in Afghanistan or the measures taken by al-Qaeda and ISIS elements in their areas of control, explaining that the recent Houthi circular was titled "Guidelines and general controls for the behavior of a university student," It included several arbitrary decisions and procedures against university students.
The Houthi evidence restricted the movement of male and female students under the pretext of preventing mixing, by separating female students from male students, specifying entrance gates for males and others for females, and specifying special specifications for clothes, hair cuts and other arbitrary measures that were met with a wide wave of criticism among students and the educational staff.
The guide also included the prohibition of filming inside the university, whether with cameras or even with mobile phones, and the prevention of any student trips except with the approval of the Houthi components, the administration of the colleges and the presidency of the university, in addition to the prohibition of graduation ceremonies and the wearing of any clothes that have English or any other language written on them.
Malicious target
Recently, the militias have intensified their targeting of women employed in government departments and inside universities and schools. The announced and unannounced decisions and circulars aim to clamp down on women and push them to stay at home under flimsy justifications.
About 26 human rights activists and academics in Sanaa revealed, in a statement issued by them recently, that there is a Houthi tendency to stop university education in front of women through incitement speeches and systematic arbitrary measures by Houthi leaders and clerics loyal to them who occupy religious platforms and centers to target female students in Yemeni schools and universities.
The activists confirmed, in a statement issued by them, that there is an inciting speech led by preachers of the terrorist Houthi militia against women enrolled in university education, which may push parents to stop enrolling their daughters in universities. They clarified that the Houthi inciting discourse, dyed with religious language, includes accusations of women enrolled in universities as well as female employees in government sectors of indecency, as if they have become an example of deviation.
Where many Friday sermons during the past weeks focused on inciting parents and parents to prevent women and girls from going to schools and universities and even their jobs, and forcing them to sit at home under the pretext of preventing mixing and soft war.
The Houthi militias in Yemen are following in the footsteps of the Taliban movement, which decided last December to ban university education for women in Afghanistan for an indefinite period. This is what is actually being implemented in public and private universities in Yemen through continuous restrictions.
