Male and Female speakers shed light on the methods and mechanisms of supporting women in a society classified as masculine, supporting them to engage in the labor market with a firm belief in the importance of their presence. The discussions focused on the obstacles that women face in managing any project in the market and how the outlook towards women managing their own projects can be changed. In addition to the importance of believing in her abilities and working on that as an important factor in supporting her. 

It was held via Zoom video communication technology, on October 29, 2023, and was allocated to members of the Yemeni Women’s Voices platform group on Facebook, which is a closed group. The 20 most active male and female members to the posts within the group were invited. The ratio was 60% women and 40% men.    

Mohammad Farea began his speech by telling the story of his support for his wife, Iman. He described it as an experience that made him feel grateful for himself, because they formed a successful couple and their success was witnessed and appreciated by the society in Taiz. In his talk about the experience he highlighted a number of points that required him to take such a step in a society known for its conservative nature and interacting with women based on customs and traditions. 

Mohammad Farea spoke about the will that Iman has and the desire to continue what she started. This made him always support her out of his belief in her abilities and potential, not only as a wife but also as a cook who differs from others with her delicious food. This was the reason for her success today. She owns Mazgan Café and runs it with her husband, Mohammad Farea, who has supported her. 

• Good upbringing of children from a young age on equality and that a sister has the same rights and duties as a brother. 

•      The brother should be the girl’s primary support and protector. 

•     The correct social system begins with a family that raises a generation with positive ideas that believes in women’s right to everything in life. 

During Farea’s talk about his experience supporting Iman, a number of attendees via chat demanded the necessity of inviting Iman to be present and participate, to listen to her experience, how she benefited from her husband and how they faced social circumstances together. 

Iman’s response was: ‘’As my husband and friend Mohammad Farea said, he really stood by me and supported me a lot, psychologically and financially, and in his presence. I felt courageous to go out into the labor market. 

I was criticized by my family, out of fear because I faced some health issues. I used to and still look at criticisms as individual actions of people who are not receptive to the presence of women in the market, especially in Taiz. The perception of me as a woman providing a service to cafe patrons was inferior. I was very upset, but my husband’s support and positive conversations with me impacted positive had a positive effect and raised my morale.’’ 

Asmaa Al-Husami quoted a special story about a girl who suffers from short stature due to hereditary genes and how she was able with the support of the male members of her family, to overcome illness and bullying to graduate from the College of Medicine at Sana’a University and be an inspiration. In the midst of the conversation, Asmaa recalls her experiences with her father’s support as well as her brother, who used to transport her to the college to study before his death. She also shared the support she usually needs, starting from leaving the door of the house, transportation and then to the door of the hospital clinic. 

Asmaa summarized some advice for women to have the motivation to convince the men in their families to support them and believe in their abilities. She called them to: 

•  Determine their goal in life. 

• Try to make their families aware of the importance of education and that is a religious duty that society needs. 

• To have some successful female role models who have learned and become important in society, whether locally or internationally. 

• Be determined to excel and insist on continuing their education and seek the help of their educated relatives to convince their families of the importance of continuing their education.  

The participation then moved on to discuss the role of influencers on social networking sites and the mechanisms of addressing topics that society classifies as sensitive to women's issues, which Abdulrahman Anis warned about in his input. He believes that it is necessary to discuss topics in a positive way that serves the presence of women and represents support for them. He adds that the influencer should have a broad knowledge of how to address support without a community clash and how to gradually ensure that the public accepts the methods of support and becomes a supporter of the presence of women in various fields.  

He also added that the male or female influencers in social media should have full faith in the issues he or she espouses and focus on issues where positive support is concentrated from a compendium of positive stories of strong and exemplary women who were able to make a difference.   

Abdul Rahman Anis: Tips to influencers 

• You are the owners of a message, and as the owner of this message you must avoid doing harm in order to deliver the message you believe in. 

• We must withstand abuse and not respond to abuse with abuse. 

• Sincerely strive to try to make a change in community awareness in this regard. 

• Working according to a well-thought-out mechanism and not slipping into stubbornness or challenging society, no matter any shocking or bad reaction is.   

The audience interventions were characterized by praise and appreciation for everything he mentioned whether from the two experiences or regarding the discussion about influencers and the role they must take to achieve the goal and deliver the message of empowerment and creating a community of support and advocates for women’s issues.