Taiz, Yemen, Women who initially organised food deliveries for soldiers defending the city of Taiz have begun raising money to buy weapons and ammunition, as Houthi fighters tighten their siege on the government-held southwestern city, according to reports from the ground.
The initiatives emerged spontaneously after fighting resumed in early September in the western countryside of Taiz governorate, between Saudi-backed forces of the internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed armed group. After nearly four years of relative calm following a UN-brokered truce in April 2022, Houthi forces launched a major ground offensive, capturing territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including the strategic port city of Mocha on September 10.
At first, women volunteers came together to bake cookies for fighters on the front lines. “The aim was to strengthen the relationship between the supportive social base and the members of the national army and pro-government popular resistance forces stationed at the front lines in defence of their besieged city,” said Amira al-Saghir, an activist involved in the campaign.
As the fighting intensified and more rural districts fell to the Houthis, the women’s initiatives expanded. Some donors began making their contributions conditional on part of the money being used to buy ammunition. Social media criticism suggesting government fighters lacked sufficient ammunition also encouraged the shift.
“After we saw that those [Houthi] militias … are waging a war of extermination against our city, we felt that we had to take a serious stand to support the army, not just with food and clothing, but with weapons as well,” Huriya Wabel, a humanitarian activist, said.
Khadija al-Majidi, another activist, has been delivering ammunition and military supplies to front lines around Jabal Sabir. She said that after more than 10 years of war, she no longer felt afraid to visit active battlefronts.
The women’s department of Taiz’s Supreme Council for Popular Resistance launched a campaign on October 8 aiming to equip 10,000 pro-government fighters with rifles and ammunition. Donations have included gold jewellery, a wedding ring, and envelopes of cash from residents despite the severe humanitarian crisis caused by the siege, which has restricted movement and caused shortages of food, fuel, and medicine.
In Yemen, a conservative country and the poorest in the Middle East, the vast majority of women do not participate in active fighting. These initiatives allow women to take part in what they see as the defence of their city against an invading force.