Against All Odds: Yemeni Women are Stopping at Nothing to Secure Their Family’s Future
The Yemeni civil war has been going on for almost seven years now. Consequently, thousands of lives have been lost, the economy is barely existent, and famine continues to rip through Yemen’s citizens. The daily struggle due to the war stricken country is unimaginable. Children struggle with their education and growing up with normal childhoods. Meanwhile however, Yemeni women are now taking control back of their lives, starting up their own businesses to guarantee a better future for themselves and their children.
When men, the official breadwinners for families there die in war, women are left with children and a family to take care of. Not only are they grieving the death of their husbands, and struggling with the instability of the war. They now need to make a living to take care of their children. With the help of start-up support from the Red Cross, women now have the resources to do just that. The International Committee of the Red Cross has provided aid, giving up to $1,000 to 50 people: 44 of them being women.
Those supported by the program were required to submit applications of the cost estimation of their projects, and the basic market study. Afterwards, they received the financial aid they required to help them start their business. While women are expected to stay at home and raise the kids, these superwomen are defying all cultural norms, and defying the whole country’s situation with its traumatic obstacles.
Yemeni women now the breadwinners
These businesses can basically be anything. One woman bought a sewing machine and is now working as a designer, making dresses and selling them to her acquaintances. To avoid electricity cuts as well, she has a solar panel to help produce energy, allowing nothing to stop her business. One of her dreams is to sell these dresses to shops in Yemen, and to guarantee her kids a university education. Another woman sells pickles, and makes pickled lemon, mango, and tamarind with green pepper. By selling these pickles, she makes a living to save up for herself, as well as securing her children’s future.
These women are a true inspiration to all, and there are many unsung heroes with stories that we have yet to hear of. For anyone struggling with their lives or for making their dreams come true, asking for help is never shameful. Developing your skills and enhancing yourself is a way of practicing humility and seeing just how much we are all capable of. It’s all worth it, and eventually, you’ll make it.
