Working Paper Series - Analyzing the formal and informal roles of women in security and justice in Yemen:

This paper argues that women have been neglected in analysis of the security sector in Yemen in a number of respects including their historic and varied roles in formal security in the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY); informal roles in negotiation and mediation in tribal structures; and security roles in the Ministry of Interior and Yemeni Armed Forces that began to re-emerge, particu. [...] Whereas women constituted 0.3% of the previous government, there was a 30% quota in place for these talks due in large part to their participation in the Arab Spring protests and demand for a spot at the table, and indicative of the more prominent roles women were demanding and taking in the emerging government. [...] While there were inherent challenges related to the status of the security sector from day one of the NDC, SSR was at the forefront of priorities and initial proposals discussed the objective of “Expansion and empowerment of women in the work of the security services and the military and intelligence.”101 This refl ected the belief that: In rebuilding security institutions, SSR should include a ra. [...] The restructuring of the security sector will likely consider the future roles and status of former employees in the sector, as well as the status of combatants and irregular militias. [...] In terms of formal roles, while women had active and varied roles in the security services in the PDRY prior to the 1990 unifi cation, it was only after 2001 that they began to really re-emerge fi rst in the police services (MOI), and in 2006, in the counterterrorism unit (MOD), as well as playing various other security-related roles in areas such as corrections, border and port security, and in a.