Hanan Mohammed Farie Almotamar.net
- The history of Yemen feels proud of the march of an elite group of Yemeni struggler women loyal to their homeland. Those women who rejected suppression and resisted the occupation. Thus they held a rich record of struggle not less in important and historical value than the role of the men. The Yemeni woman have been characterized by high sense of responsibility and patriotism , took part in effective national role and raised the banner of strife for the liberation of south Yemen from the British colonialism and recorded heroic epics waged side by side with men.
Thus, in addition to encouraging men and urging them to the fields of honour and martyrdom in love of freedom and dignity, the woman offered whatever dear and did not spare life, money and effort in defence of the homeland and the land.
The beginning was from education. Since the mid of the thirties of the last century , the Yemeni woman in Aden received the opportunity of education which began to spread in Aden and that had tangibly helped formation of awareness and broke the social, economic and cultural barriers and chains that were precluding her participation in the public activity. The pioneering women managed to contribute to creation of a generation of educated women. During the fifties and sixties of the last century an elite of cultured and intellectual women had emerged and were able to prove and establish themselves via the pulpits of science, journalism and work. With that development the woman in Aden had experienced in that period, she began to interact with the then ongoing situations and to adopt stands and ideas believing in the armed struggle against the British colonialist and in supporting and backing up the liberationist movements. The National Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen was the first political organization allowing the Yemeni woman to participate in the armed struggle where the number of women affiliated to the organization amounted to about 200 women during the sixties of the last century, among them were Zahra Hibatallah , A’eda Ali Said , Fathiya Basnaid and Najwa makawi. Thy managed to convince women believing in the and supporting the armed struggle to be members and the formation of cells that played a major role in the success of the glorious October revolution leading to the liberation of the occupied south of Yemen.
In the battle fields in defence of the homeland the Yemeni woman were given several tasks, among them preparing and distribution of leaflets, broadcasting news on the guerrilla operations and instigation on staging demonstrations, hiding weapons and carrying them through checkpoints of the British forces in addition to providing shelter to those wanted by the colonialists.
And when the National Front came under a financial crisis the female employees donated one quarter of their salaries to solve that crisis. The participation of the Yemeni woman did not stop at that point; she had the honour of backing up the strugglers and taking part in the guerilla operations. That resulted I the martyrdom, in the battles of heroism, freedom and independence, of Khadija al-Hawshaba who had been killed by the British soldiers and the martyr of Daara Bint Saeed who raised arms and fought side by side the men in addition to other woman martyrs such as Najwa makawi who drove a British tank on the day of the fall of the town of Crator on 20 June 1967 and detained with here colleague Fawzi Jaafar. There were also other women who became patriotic symbols and torches that lightened the road for the coming generations.
In celebration of the anniversary of 14 October revolution we pay respect to the Yemeni struggler women and their souls , promising them to continue their marches for the homeland is still in dire need joining efforts of its sons to keep its unity, security and stability .