Yemeni and international human rights organizations have accused Houthi militias of ramping up their campaign of violence against women in an unprecedented manner.
In its latest report, the Netherlands-based Human Rights Radar says the phenomenon of the abduction of girls, female students and women has increased unprecedentedly in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The spike in kidnaps can also be traced to other areas under militia control.
According to eyewitnesses cited by the report, more than 35 girls and female students were abducted from academic institutions and streets in Sanaa. Some of them were abducted for extortion purposes or due to false and malicious reports made against them. Some were even taken for unknown reasons.
A number of girls who were attending sewing clothes workshop in al-Tawila city of al-Mahwit governorate were abducted. The city is also controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis.
The father of one of the kidnapped girls told Rights Radar that his daughter was moved from a brothel to a prison in Sanaa alongside another 30 women from different areas.
He, according to Rights Radar, appealed to human rights organizations to urgently intervene and help release his daughter and other female abductees.
Just last week, three other girls were abducted in Sanaa-- they including two sisters aged 18 and 13. The kidnapping took place in al-Anab neighborhood while the girls were on their way to work.
The third abductee is an eighth-grade primary school girl. She was kidnapped on December 7 right in front of her house in Sanaa’s Maeen district.
According to eyewitnesses, the abductors were female militia members affiliated with the Houthis.
More so, armed Houthis in Sanaa attacked a language institute in the Haddah district on December 9 and abducted women working there.
