In this issue The Yemen Observer interviewed Raufah Hassan: an academic, a researcher and a social activist. Hassan is currently professor of Media Studies at the University of Sana’a, where she is also a research member at the Gender Studies Center. Head of the Cultural Development Programs Foundation, Raufah Hassan accomplished her studies in Egypt, the United States and France. As a professor, she has taught Mass Media and Social Change, Gender Studies, and Islamic feminism theories among other courses.
Yemen Observer (YO): -How do you explain the establishment of the VVC in Yemen?
Raufah Hassan (RH): -I followed all the acts done by this group from the very beginning, so I know about the first poster they held half a year ago, where they presented 13 issues they were against and they collected 91 signatures from what they called “Scientist Sheikhs of Islam,” the ‘ulama. I analysed this poster and I presented my analysis in a paper at a conference.
I then drew attention to our colleagues at the Women National Committee and the Yemen Women Union, who did not know anything about it yet. I was very much concerned because their points attacked the possibility of making any modification of the laws for or in favour of women, considering that to be against Islam. We discussed that and we decided that we would not make it a bigger issue than what it was, so we did not lead any actions. Then I followed through the news that this group of people met with the President so as to ask him to allow them to form their authority in an official manner. First, they wanted their authority to be related to the President, to be it governmental, but the President refused and politely said that he would think about it and never did anything.
Then, they decided to hold another meeting in which they announced that they would have the form of a non-governmental organization (NGO), and given the freedom we have in Yemen to make groups, they did it. In the beginning they were attacked by many journalists who considered them to be a replica of the Saudi “moral police.” There were so many articles defending and attacking them before they even held the conference that officially established them. Then, they decided the dates of their meetings which brings us to now and the latest events (Raufah Hassan refers to the nomination of Sheikh al-Zindani as its president and Sheikh Sadeq al-Ahmar as its vice president on the 12th of August, 2008).
YO: -Why do you think this religious authority emerges now?
RH: -It is not happening now, it has been happening for a long time. These groups have been formulated in Yemen in the 70s, reformulated in the 80s, they have been formulated again in 1994, and now they appear again for the forth time, so the time is not a big issue. Every time they appear, they come with a new face: sometimes an association, sometimes they appear as part of a party, others like groups supported by officials and sometimes by the public. I have followed these events since a long time ago now, and the time does not really matter because now we are just experiencing another “wave” of the same phenomenon.
At least this time, in the beginning, it was aimed to create either a political party that is more extremist or to pressure on the Islah party to accept a certain agenda. The Islah party is now part of the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) coalition and as such is now negotiating an agenda that is less radical than what it used to be, so the ones who felt excluded want now to show their power. There is a political agenda behind all that.
YO: -What would this “agenda” be and who are “they” when you talk about “their” reformulation over the years?
RH: -We do have 5000 people that met under the title of the “’ulama,” most of them were graduates from al-Eman University. The head of the University was announced to be the head of this group, the son of Sheikh al-Ahmar was announced to be its deputy: it is a formula that shows a tribal support and a religious coalition to bring about something that was present at the beginning of the formulation of al-Islah Party in the 90s (since its establishment as a political party, the Islah Party has been based on three political streams: the tribal stream led by Sheikh al-Ahmar and now led by his son, the Muslim Brotherhood group considered the intellectual and reformist stream, and the conservative group led by Sheikh al-Zindani).
Now we have a similar coalition, again these groups get together once more in the newly formulated virtue authority. Now, when I say “they” I refer to the ones that benefit from this kind of power and power meaning here authority, resources and influence. They announced –we are not going to talk on their behalf, but on what they announced- their agenda clearly: they spoke of the Sa’adah war, social movements, women and the movements in the South of the country. Their political agenda is clear.
YO: -What is your opinion in relation to women and the fatwa they issued against the quota system?
RH: -The virtue authority as a group did not issue this fatwa, it was distributed at their meeting by a group of radicals more radicals than the whole authority who used the opportunity of this conference to distribute that. It is an opinion that had existed for a long time and that now expressed itself in a stronger manner but it belongs to a group inside another group.
YO: - The quota system: is it an effective solution to women’s participation?
RH: -Well, the quota is just a mechanism to help women in the issue of political participation, but is not the final goal of the women’s movement. Getting women to the parliament successfully is not going to be done through a quota system, it has to be done through another system so is “okay” if people oppose this specific mechanism. Women and the men that support them have to work through other methods and mechanisms. The wording sometimes and the mechanisms some other times make issues bigger than what the reality is.
The reality is how to support women and make them present in the elected bodies. To do that many things can be done, so if the quota is refused then let’s do something else. I was in the Beijing Conference (in reference to the Fourth World Conference held in Beijing in 1995), and I joined the work on the agenda that came as an outcome and as a plan of action after this conference. In the plan of action Yemen signed, it was supposed to encourage women and their political participation, empower them through a quota of at least 30%.
Coming back to Yemen and presenting a quota of just 15% is a step, but just one step. Now, for me is not the end, is just another method and that is why I do not put emphasis on it because I consider it as another step. As such, it has been taken by the President, supported by some, rejected by others, but even this rejection made people talk about it, which is good on itself.
YO: -What is your stand about women’s organizations’ responses on the events provoked by the Virtue Authority?
RH: -Is good. In our Foundation (Cultural Development Programs Foundation is a non-governmental organization that aims at increasing the level of cultural awareness) we have not taken any steps, we are waiting for them to do more. I think they are going to do more for the coming election (Parliamentary election, programmed to be held on April 2009). That is why we have to be vigilant about it. The quota system was clear that, after the refusal of the modification of the election law, was not going to take place in this election; but because the modification of the constitution has not taken place, it is still a subject that is not over in Yemen.
The quota needs either an agreement from the political parties or a legal modification of laws in such a way that it does not go against the constitution or the modifications/amendments to the constitution. If that took place, then you could say the quota “is an issue,” but is not an issue, is out of questions, so why are you going to put all your efforts in something that is not workable? We have to work now for the 2009 election from the point of view that women have to win. We cannot do it through the quota because the quota is already gone, so instead of crying on the milk that has been spoiled let’s do something.
YO: -Like what?
RH: -Everybody can do something. For instance our Foundation is creating a network called Ansar that will support women candidates in eight governorates where women had won in previous local council elections but not in the parliament, so we will support them. We know that the legal system now makes it difficult for women to be independent candidates because they request 300 signatures. Our network will help women get the signatures they need and we will also help them to have an environment of support, we will help them in their campaigns through creating groups inside Ansar that will really vote for them. Is the social environment the one that needs to be changed, or improved, or enhanced and we will work for that to happen. Also we will support the groups that are doing a similar work.
YO: -Is Ansar similar to the Watan Alliance? (The Watan Alliance was a pioneer initiative among women activists to form an alliance that would support women socially and economically to be independent candidates during any election. This Alliance was created in 2006, during the past presidential and local council elections)
RH: -Yes, but we support not only independent candidates but also candidates from political parties. Our Foundation was actually the former secretary of the Watan Coalition, we helped them in their creation, but this coalition is loose and because of that is not structured which makes it incapable of producing programs. Now our network, Ansar, has strong ties, it is directed and supported by the Foundation who is responsible for it, so we are required to respond for their actions. Watan was a good coalition and there can be collaboration with the Ansar network, but the latter would be an executive body.
YO: -Regarding the upcoming election, how do you see the possibilities for the opposition coalition? Did the latest political events divide it?
RH: - The JMP is still the JMP, it has not announced to be divided or out of the election. The Virtue Authority is also there, and it has not announced to become a party. Islah is still a political party that has not announced to be divided. All these rumours of division are just rumours, so I do not deal with them as facts. It does not mean that much. When the parties will present candidates and when women will begin to face problems, then it will be the real exam for these groups.
YO: -What is your reading of the latest movements among the political actors?
RH: -If al-Zindani is to break the Islah Party only he can answer that, but even though, I personally doubt it. By reading the map of Yemen’s political tendencies, he seems to be making pressure, showing that if he does what he wants he can hurt, and if they exclude or put him aside, he is showing that he is going to react. It is a language, a code, between them. Do we decode it correctly, I am not sure.
YO: -What can you tell us about the events that took place in 1999 and that mentioned Antelak al-Mutawakeel in the previous interview, which targeted the Center for Gender Studies and you personally?
RH: -In 1999 Islah was not able to present a candidate for the election and they had to choose the President, which was the worse option for them, so they had to occupy their members with something bigger, a bigger danger like our center and myself, which they presented as a threat to Islam. In that way the members of the party would not think about the internal problems. I do not know if Islah has solved these problems because in the second presidential election they had to come with a candidate that came from outside their party and that was chosen by the JMP -Faisal Bin Shamlan- that could save the unity of the Islah party because Islah could not solve this internal problem.
Until today the Islah Party has not been able to produce a candidate in the name of Islah and defend him without having problems among the groups inside the party. Now, if they will be able to do so in the upcoming election, I do not know. I really wish for them that al-Zindani and his group make their own political party and leave Islah in peace, so they could really grow and could be strong and able to produce a good candidate, but this is just a wish.
- Yemen Observer
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