Houthis fire Sanaa University professor for opposing college gender segregation

AL-MUKALLA: Human rights groups and activists on Thursday claimed that the Iran-backed Houthis had fired a Sanaa University professor for opposing the militia’s recent controversial ban on co-education at the institution.

The Geneva-based SAM Organization for Rights and Liberties said that the Houthis had dismissed Dr. Samia Al-Aghbari, head of journalism at the university’s mass communication college, after she criticized the gender segregation move.

In a tweet, the organization said: “This reflects their (the Houthis) discriminatory policies toward women in Yemen. We urge support for the violated women’s rights and call on the group to stop discrimination and uphold fundamental rights as guaranteed by domestic and international law.”

The Houthis imposed the new rules at the college late last month, requiring male students to report on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays, and female students on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

Yemeni opposition groups have since accused the Houthis of attempting to coerce women out of school and the workforce.

Al-Aghbari, who described her dismissal as “job rotation,” reaffirmed her criticism of the ban and urged Yemenis who shared her view to fight the ruling and support women who had been denied key positions at Yemeni universities.

In a Facebook post, she said: “The focus of solidarity should turn to the arbitrary segregation of male and female students at the faculty of mass communication, which has no scientific, legal, or moral justification.

“The primary issue is not that I was removed from my position as chair of the (journalism) department, but that many women’s administrative and academic cadres are deprived of decision-making power in male-dominated authority.”

Shortly after hearing news of Al-Aghbari’s dismissal, dozens of her students, friends, and Yemeni human rights activists took to Facebook to send messages of support, although many avoided mentioning the Houthis.

In a post, Ahmed Nagi Al-Nabahani, a Sanaa-based Yemeni activist, said: “This is in light of the hostile attitude toward women. Rather than providing women with fairness and parity with males in government and academic positions, there are those who wish to exclude women from their current positions.”

Meanwhile, YouTube removed from its platform four Houthi-affiliated channels that promoted the militia’s ideology and military communications. The Houthis said that YouTube had shut down four affiliated channels, bringing the total number of closed channels to 22 in less than a month.