In the traditional courtrooms and the bustling streets of Yemen, the fight for gender equality has long been a grueling uphill battle. However, as the world increasingly migrates toward digital connectivity, a new and more insidious front has opened. "The laws that do not protect women in reality are the same laws that fail to protect them online," observes Afraa Al-Hariri, a prominent Yemeni lawyer and human rights defender. As the Country Director of the Peace Track Initiative, Al-Hariri has witnessed firsthand how the lack of legal infrastructure in the physical world creates a vacuum of accountability in the digital one, leaving women vulnerable to a predatory landscape of harassment and extortion.
The scale of this crisis is staggering. According to a comprehensive new brief on digital violence across the Arab States released by UN Women, the internet has become a precarious environment for women. Roughly 49 percent of female internet users in the region report feeling unsafe from online harassment. Perhaps more alarming is the porous nature of this violence: nearly half of the women who experienced digital abuse reported that the threats eventually bled into their physical lives, manifesting as real-world stalking, assault, or social ostracization.
In Yemen, a country already grappling with years of conflict and humanitarian hardship, the digital sphere has become a mirror reflecting and magnifying deep-seated gender inequalities. Here, technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) is not merely an inconvenience; it is a tool used to dismantle women’s reputations, livelihoods, and even their lives. As part of the global "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence" campaign, a concentrated effort is underway to dismantle this culture of impunity. UN Women has joined forces with Yemen’s Ministry of Justice to fortify the legal system, ensuring that those who hide behind screens to perpetrate violence are dragged into the light of justice.
The weaponization of social stigma is perhaps the most potent tool in the digital abuser’s arsenal. In a society where a woman’s "honor" is often tied to the perceived reputation of her entire family, the threat of exposure is a devastating form of leverage. Al-Hariri explains that the most common and damaging form of abuse involves the unauthorized use of women’s photographs. Whether these images are real or "deepfakes" manipulated by artificial intelligence, the threat remains the same: the perpetrator vows to share the photos publicly to shame, harass, or extort the victim.
This culture of shame creates a secondary prison for survivors. "The social norms that treat women as ‘shameful’ in real life are the same norms used against them online," Al-Hariri notes. Because of the intense social pressure to maintain a spotless public image, many women are coerced into silence. They fear that filing a formal complaint will bring more "dishonor" to their families than the abuse itself. This silence acts as a protective shield for criminals, allowing them to continue their predatory behavior without fear of legal recourse. Many victims find themselves trapped in cycles of financial extortion, paying blackmailers sums they cannot afford simply to keep their private lives from being weaponized against them.
The human cost of this digital warfare is evidenced by the harrowing stories emerging from across Yemen. For some, the abuse is a targeted attempt to silence their voices in the public sphere. One young Yemeni peacebuilder recounted how her efforts to foster community reconciliation were met with a barrage of online vitriol. Malicious actors created false narratives, accusing her and other female activists of being foreign spies. The psychological weight of this defamation became so heavy that she eventually stopped posting about her work entirely. This "digital silencing" is a strategic move to push women out of leadership roles and peacebuilding efforts, effectively narrowing the space for female participation in Yemen’s future.
For others, the consequences are economic and social. In the city of Aden, a female owner of a beauty salon saw her life’s work vanish in a matter of weeks. A perpetrator created a network of fake social media profiles to distribute manipulated, compromising photos of her. The resulting scandal was swift and merciless. Her clients stopped coming, her business collapsed, and the friends she had relied on for years distanced themselves to avoid being tainted by the controversy. She was left not only financially destitute but socially isolated, a common outcome for women targeted by digital defamation.
In the most extreme cases, digital violence proves fatal. One tragic incident involved a woman who took her mobile phone to a local shop for repairs. The technician stole personal photos from the device, including images of the woman without her veil—a private moment intended only for her home. When the technician uploaded these photos to social media, the woman’s husband discovered them. In a misguided and horrific attempt to "restore honor," he killed his wife. While the husband faced criminal charges for the murder, the technician who initiated the chain of events remained untouched by the law because no specific legislation existed to prosecute him for the digital breach. In another heartbreaking case in Al Hudaydah, a young girl ended her own life after being subjected to a relentless combination of domestic violence and digital extortion.
"It is rare to find a woman activist who has not been subjected to some form of abuse, insult, or defamation online," Al-Hariri says, speaking from her own experience of being bullied and maligned for her advocacy.
Recognizing that the status quo was unsustainable, Al-Hariri and a coalition of women leaders began pushing for systemic change several years ago. Their advocacy led to a landmark development: the creation of a specialized Cybercrime Unit within the Office of the Attorney General. By collaborating with internet engineers and women’s rights organizations, the unit was equipped with the technical skills necessary to track digital footprints. Since its inception, the unit has recorded thousands of official complaints regarding digital abuse and blackmail. While these numbers are significant, experts believe they represent only the tip of the iceberg, as chronic underreporting remains a major hurdle.
To bridge the gap between reporting a crime and achieving a conviction, UN Women recently facilitated a specialized cybercrime workshop for law enforcement, prosecutors, and judges. Led by Al-Hariri, the training focused on building the capacity of the justice system to understand the nuances of digital extortion. This includes training officials on how to use digital forensic tools to identify perpetrators and ensuring that the judicial process is survivor-centered, minimizing the trauma for women who come forward.
The impact of these workshops is already being felt among high-level officials. Fatima Yaslam, Director of the Working Women’s Development Department in Yemen’s Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, emphasized the importance of translating these lessons into policy. "The course helped us recognize our strengths, as well as our weaknesses," she said. "Now we are moving into the serious part: How to fight this phenomenon and raise awareness about it in society and within the justice system."
Judge Anmar Abdullah Saeed, another participant, echoed the need for a cultural shift within the legal community. He acknowledged that the "closed" nature of Yemeni society often deters women from seeking help. "It’s our responsibility to teach the community how to deal with these digital threats," he remarked, noting that the judiciary must be proactive in encouraging reporting and ensuring that the law serves as a true deterrent.
The road ahead is long, but the foundation for a safer digital Yemen is being laid. UN Women, in partnership with the For All Foundation for Development and the Yemen Women National Committee, continues to advocate for robust legislative reforms that specifically address technology-facilitated violence. The goal is to move beyond temporary fixes and toward a permanent legal framework where digital crimes carry the same weight—and the same consequences—as physical ones.
As the "16 Days of Activism" campaign continues under the banner of #NoExcuse, the message to the women of Yemen is clear: safety is a right, not a privilege. Digital spaces should be engines of empowerment, offering women opportunities for education, entrepreneurship, and political engagement. For those currently facing the shadow of digital violence, the Attorney General’s Office now provides a platform to file reports and seek protection. By breaking the silence and challenging the stigma, Yemeni women are not just defending themselves; they are reclaiming the digital frontier for the generations of girls who will follow.
