HOOD's Award for Human Rights

It is amazing to be a human right activist. But HOOD believes that it is more amazing and commendable to be a victim and to speak up- no matter what the challenges, what the risks- just to expose injustice, to save others from similar fates, and ultimately, to inspire others in all walks of life .

HOOD very humbly presents its perception of a hero. HOOD announces “HOOD's Award for Human Rights ” as a way to deepen our beliefs, strengthen our fortitude and to honor some of people of great courage who did a great job. Classically, through all ages, and through the ruling of the world's kings, presidents, or any sort of rulers, terrifying people not to speak up is a historical pattern. Herewith, HOOD announces names of victims who take huge risk in order to speak up, and thus inspire or enforce justice.  

HOOD did not mention the names of the violations' perpetrators because HOOD cares most to highlight the heroism of those people and to emphasis the short-term and long-term impact.

HOOD believed that all those heroes are winners and the selection will not add or undermine their deeds.

HOOD welcomes your votes at www.hoodonline.orgto choose your hero. HOOD will announce the results on May 30.

Criteria of HOOD's selection :

a victim [his rights violated]

Take a risk

Make a change

Peaceful protest

Inspiring [optional]

Vulnerable group [optional]

The candidates for this post :

1. Anisa al-Shuaibi
2. Fahd al-Qarni
3. Al-Ja'ashin people .
4. Hamdan AL-Dersi

Anisa al-Shuaibi: Finally…..a female voice for persecuted women

Our society is still governed by a culture of the "punishing the victim". Many women who were raped or abused were eventually held responsible for their victimizers' actions.

HOOD believes that Ansia al-Shuaibi is one of the main courageous victims in the previous year as she talked about the violations she faced after her arrest in 2003 on the charge of killing her ex-husband. She was brutally taken from home by soldiers at midnight to be thrown in the Criminal Investigation Bureau for 48 days, and then to stay at the central jail for one month and a half. 

Her lawyer, Abdul-Rahman Barman, considered her detention illegal because the arrest was not based on evidence; it solely was carried out based upon a report from her ex-mother in law.

Anisa represent one case of hundreds of women in our society. Anisa was physically abused and her children were kept in jail with her. Furthermore, the investigations were carried out in the prostitution and theft department, which is so humiliating for women in our country.

Anisa alleged that she was drugged and knew later that she was raped. Anisa's declaration of abuse and rape in front of local and international media outlets was a big social shock. Many people did not believe it. Anisa broke out of the silence that normally surrounds most victims of sexual and physical abuse.

HOOD believes that what the society, particularly the female society, needs is to break the silence. Long silence deepens a woman’s agony and makes it a social tradition. Despite the Anisa's sacrifice of her reputation and comfort, she brought about a concrete change to the procedures of women's imprisonment. Women used to be in the CIB when arrested but now they are transferred to the specified public jails.

Anisa also made another change when she came forward with her case. She challenged the concept of "punishing the victim", which is a weak inherited culture that cannot punish the abusers but victimizes the victim.

HOOD believed that Anisa was very courageous to talk about physical abuse in front of media outlets and she was doomed in a society which perceives women to be the reason for all of her troubles.

Ansia was even abused by the elite of the society when many suspected her stories and labeled her in some of the state-controlled newspapers, which stood against her because she “defamed the state”. Yet, HOOD, which undertook her case, preferred not to go in side battles because people tend to fight for their inherited or acquired ideologies which will fade the main goal.

International satellite channels like Aljazeera covered the case of Anisa, along with some independent and opposition local newspapers, while the governmental media was silent, considering this case as over the red line. Yet, the various publications protected Anisa because what she has uttered was dangerous at many levels.

Ansia suffered from psychological issues; she believes that she is under surveillance by members of the CIB all the time. She also suffers from the disrespect of any neighborhood she lives in. Anisa has repeatedly asked for immigration as she lost her self-peace in her own country.

HOOD filed a case through Allawo law firm against the CIB in late 2006. HOOD called on punishing the abusers and people in authority at the jail. HOOD also called for compensation for her loss. The suspects were absent during the prosecution’s investigation which took long time, and there were lots of protest to start. The suspects attended the investigation with the absence of the lawyers, who could not record all of their accusation. "I wanted to report the jailing of her kids," said Barman.

Accordingly, many threats sent to Anisa, HOOD members and some journalists working on this issue.

The court acquitted the two suspects, but it acknowledged that Anisa was illegally arrested and compensated her. HOOD considered this outcome unjust as that the court admitted illegal dentition and compensation on the one hand and acquitted the suspects from the other. Further, the court asked the two suspects to sign a pledge to do their work properly, which was not written into the verdict.

But do not be too pessimistic, Anisa was successful in filing one of the rare cases against some high-profile officials, which is another positive change.

Despite that Ansia was released from jail, she is still locked in the society's prison that has its own ideas about females. As she is a prisoner, her situation is worse because the jail's administration knows well that a male prisoner will have his whole tribe behind him, unlike the females who will be abandoned by everyone. This happened too to Anisa and to the famous female prisoner Amina al -Tuhaif.

Anisa succeeded to do what numbers of organizations and several human rights activists failed to do-stop the imprisonment of women in police stations.

HOOD proudly nominates Anisa for "HOOD's Award of Human Rights" because she defended the future of many girls and also defended female prisoners who are used to pass deistic desires. For any change, the persecuted are the most entitled people to fight injustice.

Al-Ja'ashin People: Kingdome inside a republic  

This candidate is not a person but a whole group of tribal people from Ibb governorate who stood up against for their rights against despite a fear that lingered for decades .They were always afraid to confront their sheikh, who for ages forced them to pay him unjust taxes, which the people cannot afford in most cases. He used to confiscate their livestock and their property if they challenged him. Al-Ja'ashin recalled stories about their fathers and grandparents who died because of grief at losing their properties.

Al-Ja'ashin stood up against this unjust treatment when they went to protest in Sana'a to claim their rights. It was not an option but a necessity because they could afford to pay the illegal taxes. Accordingly, their properties and livestock confiscated and the remnants of the families were terrified by the Sheikh's regime. Therefore, some women and children joined the men in Sana'a.

HOOD thinks that al-Ja'ashin did a great job because they overcame their fear. Some one of them told HOOD onlinethat his parents shushed him if he talked about the sheikh inside the home.

Another person was like the shadow leader of the eruption of al-Ja'ashin. Sa’eed al-Ibbi is believed to be one of the men behind al-Ja'ashin's revolution in 2007 .

Mr. Sa’eed was not a highly educated person. He lived in Aden during its heyday at the British colonization. He attended all the clubs for the elites of the society at that time .

Sa’eed was not able to stand still against the British colonization to the southern areas, which at that time was not a part of the unified Yemen .

In 1965, he was imprisoned for two years until the last British soldier left. He felt happy, both that he was released from prison and the occupation finally ended . 

But when he returned to his home town, al-Ja'ashin in Ibb, he was so aggrieved because what he and other revolutionaries fought to establish as the goals of the Republic of Yemen had not reached his beloved home town . 

He recalled to HOOD online when he saw the soldiers of the sheikhs break into a house and steal livestock. "It was horrible when I heard the screams of the women and the children. At that moment, I would have preferred death to life ." 

For forty years, Sa’eed was trying his best to push his village to demand their rights, "But they know that everyone around is with the sheikh even the government .”

Al-Ja'ashin villagers were governed by their sheikh. Their sheik is the one who decided their life. He, as described by people, owned the air and the earth. It was ironically described as "The kingdom of al-Ja'ashin "

What makes HOOD believes that al-Ja'ashin is eligible for this award is that they broke away from the "historical inherited fear" that was with them for ages. It is not easy to challenge the very thing that you saw your parents were afraid or even to think about it . 

HOOD chose Sa’eed al-Ibbi to be the representative of al-Ja'ashins. He was one of the people that motivated his own people to speak up to break the shell . 

Al-Ja'ashin came twice to Sana’a. The first group was from al-Re’ash and al-Sifah while the other is from al-Sabyeen. Both groups made numerous unfruitful protests in front of the local authorities in Ibb. Then, they traveled to Sana'a to protest in front of the parliament. In response to their protests, the local authorities in Ibb denied their grievances and said that they were used by the opposition for political motivations. A parliamentary committee was established to investigate their complaints. The committee went to Ibb and could not investigate because of the governor's lack of cooperation. The case caught much attention by media and society, and it ended only when President Ali Abdullah Saleh issued an order to the prosecution to investigate the case. The second time the issue was ended by a tribal mediation to compensate the other group of al-Ja’ashin . 

It is logical that even if we rebel against monarchy or colonization, we still need some efforts to enforce justice and to make a lasting change. Al-Ja’ashin did that . 

Fahd al-Qarni: Satire can Hurt

In a country where almost 70 percent of the population is illiterate, where most of the media outlets are controlled by the government, a young man gifted with knowledge chose to work through art. His style is comedy, but simple comedy that appeals to everyone . 

But his simplicity is blended with a rare sense of human rights knowledge. In one of the interviews with HOOD online, he said bluntly, "What makes me a citizen and the president is president is the constitution. This is the social contract that is between us and the government.”  

Al-Qarni gained a great deal of popularity after the elections of 2006. He has preformed hundreds of times all around the country. His plays are very critical of the society and even more so of the state .

Most of his comedic routines, which are distributed through tapes, criticize the President, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and state corruption. Therefore, Taiz security forces arrested Al-Qarni in early April last year on charges of sedition and harming national unity by his satirical performances mocking the Yemeni government and President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

His trials were attended by ordinary people, there to show support, which some analysts believe is the real measure of his success.  

Fahd al-Qarni proved that art can be a tool to defend human rights. HOOD believes that al-Qarni is a strong candidate because he has a clear vision of human rights . 

Eventually, al-Qarni was released, but the government required that he sign a pledge vowing to stop his political criticizing plays and works, but he refused .

It is so human that when people are in jail on political motivated charges to be scared or dispirited. Al-Qarni, on contrary, was so strong, and he made jokes about it . 

He was not intimidated by the jailors. Once, he was in jail blindfolded with his hands tied. He heard some voices screaming in the background. Al-Qarni laughed. The inspector was surprised. "Why you are laughing?" he asked al-Qarni .

"You can act, because I am an actor, myself. Stop the tape of the screaming ."

He also told that inspector when the blindfold came off, "Do you think that you scare me like this? I am protecting your future and your kids too ." 

Al-Qarni had almost 75 lawyers to defend him in court. Human rights observers believed that al-Qarni was arrested due to his simple and popular plays which made a greater impact than any newspaper or other media outlet .

"He reached the people's heart and that’s why the government is afraid of him,” said Fouad Dahaba, an MP. That was obvious- when he was on his way out from one of his trials, even the soldiers stopped to tell him that they are supporting him .

HOOD believes that Democracy is not a slogan but a real practice. The number one key is an unfettered media and freedom of expression. Jailing al-Qarni because of his plays is an obvious violation to these rights. However, al-Qarni was not a victim but a human rights activist whose awareness of rights embarrassed the government. In Yemen, there are many human rights activists take chances, but al-Qarni risked his life and he knew that in advance. "I am ready to pay my soul for my country," he said . 

Hamdan Al-Darsi: simple man practices peaceful protest : 

Hamdan al-Dersi, 38, is the male version of the Anisa case, a female prisoner who alleged torture and rape. Al-Dersi filed a suit against a well-known sheikh in their areas. Hamdan, the coffee-color and tall man from Hudeida, was working for a man who happened to have a rivalry with the sheikh .

The sheikh of Hudeida arrested al-Dersi and confined him in the sheik’s private jail and tortured him and sodomized him with a stick. The scars and wounds left by the torture and sexual abuse were so vivid on al-Dersi’s body that a legal doctor who examined him said that his injuries were consistent with his claims of abuse .

HOOD believes that al-Dersi broke up another taboo by speaking about his agony, which in a very proud male country can deteriorate his image in the society for ever .

He strikes a model for asking rights in peaceful way. He said that he will call for his rights by law. If that does not happen, he will take his rights by his hands .

Al-Dersi made a risk by challenging a very powerful sheikh. He lost his case in the court because, as his lawyer said, the Prosecution did not guarantee a safe environment for the witnesses, who later withdrew their testimonies because they were intimidated by the Sheikh. The Prosecution did not construct a special team in Sana’a to make sure that all the elements of fair trial were fulfilled.

But the sentence of Bait al-Faqih court created anger among human rights activists when the Judge acquitted the sheikh, and one of the reasons was the withdrawal of witnesses. But the sentence was shocking because it neglected the charge of the private prison which the court considered as a “social inheritance that must be changed and it does not mean that the accused is not guilty.” However, the Judge suspended the sentence against the sheikh, which was set for the minimum punishment .

Al-Dersi appealed the sentence, and he remains determined to get his rights. For HOOD, candidates’ qualities are not in a resume that requires success. HOOD believes that Hamdan is a strong candidate because he sets a role model for poor and persecuted people. Moreover, al-Dersi showed that the judicial system in Yemen is not independent and cannot be the voice for the voiceless . 

Each candidate opened a curtain to a flaw in our Yemeni society. Hamdan showed that the court respects the unjust traditions which prompted the revolution against monarchy erupted in the first place. The court must be a tool of evolution for all the traditions that Yemen seeks to change. Mohamed Naji Allawo, the General Coordinator of HOOD, said that the judge gave the traditions priority over the constitution, which stipulates the private prisons as a big crime .

Hamdan practices peaceful protest despite his simple education. HOOD chose Hamdan as a candidate for HOOD’s Award for Human Rights for his long-term suffering and his solid determination to get his rights by the legal channels in Yemen . 

Written: Kawkab al-Thaibani  

HOOD Online editor

Thanks to Jane Novac, who edited this article.    

Photo of Hamdan al-Dersi: Yemen Observer newspaper