INFORMATIONAL BRIEF
Human Rights Defender in Hadramout Battles Threats and Gender Discrimination
DECEMBER 2023
Introduction
Since the start of the war in Yemen conflict actors have cracked down on human rights defenders (HRDs)—lawyers, journalists, women’s rights activists, and others—by subjecting them to threats, detention, torture, and politically-motivated trials.1 The Houthis are particularly brutal in this regard,2 as exemplified by the case of activist Fatima al-Arwali, who was sentenced to death by a Sana’a court in December 2023 following eight months of enforced disappearance and a sham trial.3 Female HRDs are at heightened risk due to the conservative culture in multiple areas in Yemen, with conflict parties routinely employing character assassination to silence them. These repressive measures have had a chilling impact on the human rights landscape, with many HRDs stopping their work, closing their organizations, and in some cases leaving the country for their safety.
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