Qat hinders women’s political participation [Archives:2006/971/Reportage]
Faisal Al-Safwani
Many leading women in the country confirm that qat hinders their participation in political activities, excludes them from decision-making and prevents them from exercising their constitutional rights.
University of Sana'a sociology lecturer Dr. Afaf Al-Haimi says chewers smoke heavily during qat sessions and sit on the ground, which inhibits women's participation. She explained that since men usually exercise their political and partisan activities during qat sessions, it is at this point that qat becomes a hurdle to women's political participation.
“I think it's a shame on men if they invite women to sit with them because if these same men were asked to allow their wives to attend qat sessions with other men, they would never accept. So women rarely are invited for political discussions or work during qat sessions,” Rashida Al-Hamadani, head of the National Women's Committee alleged.
“More than once, I and some other women were invited to attend afternoon qat sessions, which usually are held in diwans without any chairs or desks,” she said, “I attended such sessions more than once and felt embarrassed within the first minutes, which compelled me to leave with my friends.”
Qat sessions can lead to interesting experiences for some women. Fawzia Nu'man, former deputy chairperson of the Yemeni Women's Union, was working with some of her friends and was shocked on the first day of work to find that the men had moved the desks and chairs to sit on the ground.
Women then refused to enter the hall, preferring to sit alone outside of it. When cabinet chairman, Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajammal arrived, he was surprised to see women standing outside in the hall. Nu'man approached Bajammal and asked him to allow her and her friends to participate in the cabinet's activities. The prime minister then ordered all cabinet members to sit on chairs so women could participate.
Nu'man affirmed that she has experienced this same issue several times because most of the time, she participates in cabinet work during afternoon qat sessions. “I was torn between joining qat sessions with men for the sake of work or withdrawing from any task. Most of the time, I preferred to withdraw,” she noted.
According to Shoura Council member Muna Basharahil, most women who win local council posts can't perform their duties in a better way, as a great portion of the tasks take place during qat sessions.
“While preparing for the seventh general congress of the General People's Congress, I and two of my friends excused ourselves from working on the committee authorized to prepare a report,” Basharahil recounted, “When we came for work in the afternoon, other committee members were coming in with bundles of qat. They then sat down and started chewing and smoking until the hall became full of smoke, forcing me and my friends to withdraw and not attend any part of the session.”
It has been made apparent that qat hinders women from participating in various political activities, particularly committee work, conference arrangements and writing reports, as men prefer working during qat sessions.
Social researcher, Maha Awadh believes that insisting on chewing qat during work sessions is male behavior aimed at refusing women's participation and forcing them to return home.
“Chewing qat at work sessions is an insult against women, as well as a violation of their legal and constitutional right to participate in political activities,” she added, “Some people ask, 'What hinders women from attending qat sessions and why do most women consider qat chewing harmful?'
“Why do men raise such questions while they know that qat chewing is a male-related habit?” Awadh asked.
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