Yemeni Women Burn their Veils

Yemeni women burnt their veils and head scarves today as a sign of protest to condemn the regime's brutality and violence, which has killed around 25 people overnight in Sanaa and Taiz and has been targeting women lately. The protest was not in anyway related to women's rights or against the Islamic veil as some people misunderstood, it was an outcry for help, specifically targeting the regime.

@SupportYemen tweets:

Yemeni women burnt their veils in protest to the regimes violence and crimes, especially the targeting of women… fb.me/AdNY5LTS

The following video, posted by EyesSemitic on YouTube, shows the women gathered at the protest in Sana'a's 60th street where they burned their veils:

Yemeni women sent out a powerful statement and plea to tribes and the international community to put an end to the regimes' violence (video posted by ainnews1):

@Dory_Eryani tweeted the core of their message, distributed in a leaflet:

“Here we burn our makrama [honour] in front of the world to witness the bloody massacres carried out by the tyrant Saleh,” #Yemen #burningveils

The burning of the veils by the women in the tribal tradition is a plea for help. Yemen is a tribal society and the killing of women is a big shame in Yemen and in Islam in general, so this was a clear and loud message by the Yemeni women for their tribes and the world at large to intervene to stop the killing of protesters.

@SummerNasser:

Women burnt veils today during protests. The burning of the veils are to symbolize that they are calling for tribes to help them. #Yemen #yf

@JamjoomCNN:

Female at veil burning: “Tribes must undrstnd they won't be respected by Yemeni women if they stay quiet while their women..attacked” #Yemen

Albeit living in a conservative society, women of Yemen have exhibited exemplary bravery and leadership skills in the current revolution, which made all Yemenis proud, as tweeted by @Mo_Alsharafi:

The Yemeni women are really heroines. thanks for all #Yemen's Women Revolutionaries.

This post was first published in Global Voices on October, 26th, 2011