Research question: To what extent did the Yemen Civil War impact the vulnerable groups of
society, specifically women and children?
For more than eight years, Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, has been trapped
inside an intractable civil war that has transformed the nation into a disaster zone of grievous
civilian suffering. This ongoing fray caused by conflicts between the country's internal factions,
the Houthis, and the Yemeni government, has locked Yemen into complete turmoil, causing
widespread suffering and destruction to disseminate across the nation ("War in Yemen"). With
violent clashes between the two parties and Saudi-led airstrikes destroying public infrastructure
and services, blocking ports, and displacing citizens, the poorest country of the Middle East has
plunged deeper into unrest, claiming the title of the world's worst humanitarian crisis ("The
facts: What you need to know about the crisis in Yemen").
The war's eight consecutive years of fighting have left detrimental impacts on the citizens of
Yemen, having displaced more than 4 million people ("Yemen Crisis") and provoked significant
damage to the nation's economy, major infrastructures, health and education systems, and
social fabric ("Assessing the Impact of War in Yemen"). However, these impacts have not been
felt equally. The Yemen Civil War has exacerbated existing divisions within the country,
deepening existing inequalities and robbing vulnerable groups of their livelihoods, security, and
future. With the war's devastating impacts on Yemeni society in mind, this essay will investigate
the extent to which the Yemen Civil War is impacting the vulnerable groups of society, more
specifically, women and children.
Yemen is being torn apart by the prolonged civil war, and civilians are caught in the middle,
fighting against unimaginable nightmares of resource shortages for essential commodities,
including food. Eight years of protracted conflict between the Houthis and the Yemeni
Government have brought the country to economic collapse, reducing its economy by more
than half since the start of the battle (“The World Bank in Yemen”). With more than 80% of
Yemenis now living below the poverty line due to the country's closed ports, the country has
transformed into the world's largest food security crisis ("Yemen on the brink").
As a food-deficient country long before the conflict arose, Yemen has heavily depended on
commercial imports, with Yemeni ports responsible for 90 percent of the country's food supply.
But with all the sea, air, and land ports forced closed by the Saudi-led, Yemen's gateway to the
world was taken away, along with their access to affordable food. What was once an economic
engine is now shattering under the weight of fighting, causing significant disruption to Yemen's
food pipeline (“The Faces of Yemen’s Sea Ports”).
Today, two-thirds of Yemenis don't know where their next meal is coming from – and even if
they did, they wouldn't be able to afford it ("Yemen on the brink").
, The blockade of ports has led to a drastic drop in imports and exports, hindering the flow of
foreign currency, essential goods, and services into the country. As a result, the local currency
has depreciated sharply, eroding the purchasing power of Yemenis. With imports drastically
reduced, Yemen's food prices have also increased significantly, and the market has become
increasingly destabilized. For instance, wheat flour, a staple in Yemeni households, is now
nearly 120 percent more expensive than in 2015, before the civil war (“The facts: What you
need to know about the crisis in Yemen”).
Moreover, the closure of ports and the direct disruption of the trade-based economy left
hundreds of thousands of Yemenis without a source of income, with few options to find work.
Non-payment of salaries during the conflict has also destroyed many families' sources of
income, pushing people farther into debt and poverty ("Yemen on the brink").
This increase in food prices and collapse of incomes have pushed food beyond many people's
reach. With limited ways to fuel their bodies, families have informed Mercy Corps that they've
“resorted to reducing the number of meals they eat, limiting portion sizes and eating lower-
quality food” to make ends meet (“The facts: What you need to know about the crisis in
Yemen”). Others even resorted to begging or selling assets for food to get by. Now, millions of
families are left with nothing to live on, experiencing catastrophic food gaps and malnutrition.
In these conditions, children and pregnant and nursing mothers—especially those living in areas
controlled by the Houthis – are particularly vulnerable. The World Food Program reports nearly
3.2 million Yemeni women and children are acutely malnourished, and Save the Children
estimates that a staggering 85,000 children have died from war-induced malnutrition since the
war began in 2015.
Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said, "If the war doesn't end now, we
are nearing an irreversible situation and risk losing an entire generation of Yemen's young
children." As of 2023, acute malnutrition rates among children under five are the highest ever
recorded in Yemen. As growing children, proper nutrition is vital for the growth and
development of their immune systems, brain, and bones. But with the blockade of ports and
increasing food prices impending people's ability to access sufficient food, children have
become increasingly susceptible to compounding health complications such as diarrhea,
pneumonia, anemia, and even death (“Five Reasons Why Acute Child Malnutrition Is Surging in
Yemen”).
Additionally, women suffer disproportionately from these dramatic levels of food insecurity and
malnutrition. They are often forced to prioritize feeding children and other family members,
eating last and least, sacrificing their own meals to pay for other vital household needs ("Yemen
on the brink"). What's more, with the number of women-led households on the rise due to the
breadwinners of families leaving for war, women and girls are forced to take on the
responsibility to sustain their families while facing limiting job opportunities due to entrenched
sociocultural norms – which makes it even harder to obtain food as they are generally excluded
from economic transactions in the local markets (“Yemen Crisis Explained”).
society, specifically women and children?
For more than eight years, Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, has been trapped
inside an intractable civil war that has transformed the nation into a disaster zone of grievous
civilian suffering. This ongoing fray caused by conflicts between the country's internal factions,
the Houthis, and the Yemeni government, has locked Yemen into complete turmoil, causing
widespread suffering and destruction to disseminate across the nation ("War in Yemen"). With
violent clashes between the two parties and Saudi-led airstrikes destroying public infrastructure
and services, blocking ports, and displacing citizens, the poorest country of the Middle East has
plunged deeper into unrest, claiming the title of the world's worst humanitarian crisis ("The
facts: What you need to know about the crisis in Yemen").
The war's eight consecutive years of fighting have left detrimental impacts on the citizens of
Yemen, having displaced more than 4 million people ("Yemen Crisis") and provoked significant
damage to the nation's economy, major infrastructures, health and education systems, and
social fabric ("Assessing the Impact of War in Yemen"). However, these impacts have not been
felt equally. The Yemen Civil War has exacerbated existing divisions within the country,
deepening existing inequalities and robbing vulnerable groups of their livelihoods, security, and
future. With the war's devastating impacts on Yemeni society in mind, this essay will investigate
the extent to which the Yemen Civil War is impacting the vulnerable groups of society, more
specifically, women and children.
Yemen is being torn apart by the prolonged civil war, and civilians are caught in the middle,
fighting against unimaginable nightmares of resource shortages for essential commodities,
including food. Eight years of protracted conflict between the Houthis and the Yemeni
Government have brought the country to economic collapse, reducing its economy by more
than half since the start of the battle (“The World Bank in Yemen”). With more than 80% of
Yemenis now living below the poverty line due to the country's closed ports, the country has
transformed into the world's largest food security crisis ("Yemen on the brink").
As a food-deficient country long before the conflict arose, Yemen has heavily depended on
commercial imports, with Yemeni ports responsible for 90 percent of the country's food supply.
But with all the sea, air, and land ports forced closed by the Saudi-led, Yemen's gateway to the
world was taken away, along with their access to affordable food. What was once an economic
engine is now shattering under the weight of fighting, causing significant disruption to Yemen's
food pipeline (“The Faces of Yemen’s Sea Ports”).
Today, two-thirds of Yemenis don't know where their next meal is coming from – and even if
they did, they wouldn't be able to afford it ("Yemen on the brink").
, The blockade of ports has led to a drastic drop in imports and exports, hindering the flow of
foreign currency, essential goods, and services into the country. As a result, the local currency
has depreciated sharply, eroding the purchasing power of Yemenis. With imports drastically
reduced, Yemen's food prices have also increased significantly, and the market has become
increasingly destabilized. For instance, wheat flour, a staple in Yemeni households, is now
nearly 120 percent more expensive than in 2015, before the civil war (“The facts: What you
need to know about the crisis in Yemen”).
Moreover, the closure of ports and the direct disruption of the trade-based economy left
hundreds of thousands of Yemenis without a source of income, with few options to find work.
Non-payment of salaries during the conflict has also destroyed many families' sources of
income, pushing people farther into debt and poverty ("Yemen on the brink").
This increase in food prices and collapse of incomes have pushed food beyond many people's
reach. With limited ways to fuel their bodies, families have informed Mercy Corps that they've
“resorted to reducing the number of meals they eat, limiting portion sizes and eating lower-
quality food” to make ends meet (“The facts: What you need to know about the crisis in
Yemen”). Others even resorted to begging or selling assets for food to get by. Now, millions of
families are left with nothing to live on, experiencing catastrophic food gaps and malnutrition.
In these conditions, children and pregnant and nursing mothers—especially those living in areas
controlled by the Houthis – are particularly vulnerable. The World Food Program reports nearly
3.2 million Yemeni women and children are acutely malnourished, and Save the Children
estimates that a staggering 85,000 children have died from war-induced malnutrition since the
war began in 2015.
Lise Grande, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Yemen, said, "If the war doesn't end now, we
are nearing an irreversible situation and risk losing an entire generation of Yemen's young
children." As of 2023, acute malnutrition rates among children under five are the highest ever
recorded in Yemen. As growing children, proper nutrition is vital for the growth and
development of their immune systems, brain, and bones. But with the blockade of ports and
increasing food prices impending people's ability to access sufficient food, children have
become increasingly susceptible to compounding health complications such as diarrhea,
pneumonia, anemia, and even death (“Five Reasons Why Acute Child Malnutrition Is Surging in
Yemen”).
Additionally, women suffer disproportionately from these dramatic levels of food insecurity and
malnutrition. They are often forced to prioritize feeding children and other family members,
eating last and least, sacrificing their own meals to pay for other vital household needs ("Yemen
on the brink"). What's more, with the number of women-led households on the rise due to the
breadwinners of families leaving for war, women and girls are forced to take on the
responsibility to sustain their families while facing limiting job opportunities due to entrenched
sociocultural norms – which makes it even harder to obtain food as they are generally excluded
from economic transactions in the local markets (“Yemen Crisis Explained”).
