The Houthi militia increased its suppression against women in Sanaa, and other areas under its control, amid several accusations of local and international parties accusing the group of escalating its repressive campaigns and committing numerous attacks against Yemenis.
The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms revealed in a recent report that Houthis kidnapped more than 380 Yemeni women between September 2014 and August 2022.
The Network said that more than 4,201 civilians abducted, including women, are still held by the group without any information on their conditions, adding that of the 1,317 Yemenis who forcibly disappeared, 85 are women.
It explained that the abductees are transferred blindfolded so they cannot know or identify their locations.
The report revealed that the Zeinabeyyat brigade, the women's military group, committed more than 1,444 incidents of abuse against men and women between December 2017 and October 2022, including arbitrary arrests and detention, looting, sexual assault, beatings, and torture.
Houthis also pursued Yemeni activists, attacked sit-ins, and deployed Zeinabeyyat members at checkpoints of several cities under its control.
The Brigade was involved in the death of nine women, six of whom were killed due to severe beatings, and three were directly shot.
During the same period, the Network documented 172 violations against civilians, carrying out 31 raids on service and health facilities, 76 searches in several educational institutions, and 65 attacks on houses of worship and Quran memorization centers.
According to the report, the group kidnapped about 571 women and detained 231 in its prisons, supervised by Zeinabeyyat, and pointed out that the Brigade recruited more than 4,000 new members trained in combat.
Meanwhile, the American Center for Justice (ACJ) revealed that abductees in Yemen were raped and forced into prostitution in prisons.
In a statement coinciding with the International Day For Elimination Of Violence Against Women, the Center declared its full solidarity with victims of gender-based violence. It also called on the international community to take serious action to eliminate violence against women and girls and work to stop the wars and conflicts that exacerbate these violations.
Human rights activists in Sanaa accused the group of detaining women activists, torturing them, and charging them with prostitution and others, hoping it would deny them social support.
