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A wave of incitement and defamation has been directed at the National Committee for Women in Taiz Governorate following a workshop discussing Yemen’s obligations under the Beijing Platform for Action.
The campaign, which escalated after the event, includes false accusations of promoting “immorality and decadence” and has fueled hostility toward women’s rights advocates in the country.
According to reports, Yemeni MP Abdullah Ahmed Ali al-Odainy is leading the smear campaign, using his political and religious platform to distort the workshop’s content and spread misinformation. Al-odainy, known for his hardline stance on women’s issues, has a history of inciting against efforts to advance gender equality. He has leveraged both mosque pulpits and social media to inflame public opinion against the National Committee for Women, contributing to an atmosphere of hostility and potential violence against human rights defenders.
Women Journalists Without Chains (WJWC) has expressed deep concern over the growing incitement and its implications for social peace. The organization warns that such campaigns not only endanger individual activists but also undermine Yemen’s international commitments, including its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. These actions, WJWC asserts, violate fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, protection from violence, and the right to participate in public and political life.
A statement issued by the National Committee for Women in Taiz condemned the attacks, calling them a direct threat to state institutions and employees. The committee emphasized that Yemen is internationally obligated to engage in discussions related to the Beijing Platform for Action and that efforts to delegitimize these commitments contradict the principles of the Yemeni revolution. The statement further urged local authorities to hold instigators accountable and called on political parties and civil society organizations to denounce the incitement campaign.
WJWC has placed direct responsibility on al-Odainy for any harm that may befall human rights and civil society workers as a result of his inflammatory rhetoric. The organization is calling for urgent measures to protect members of the National Committee for Women and prevent any further targeting of activists. It warns that rising incitement correlates with increasing violations against women in Yemen, including physical assaults, forced displacement, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms.
The organization has urged authorities in Taiz to take firm action against those fueling violence and to ensure that governmental institutions and human rights workers can operate without fear of reprisal. WJWC is also calling on political actors, civil society groups, and the media to counter hate speech, raise awareness about gender equality, and stand against the growing threats to human rights defenders.
In its final statement, WJWC reaffirmed that defending women’s rights is essential to building a just and civil society based on the rule of law. The organization rejects any attempts to derail this path through incitement and defamation, stressing that adherence to international agreements on women’s rights is part of Yemen’s institutional and legal obligations.
