From under the black veil that covers her face and lets only her eyes show, Hana Abdullah, said, “wearing the veil makes me feel like I fit in.”
She believes that her veil keeps her safe and unharmed.
Like Hana, Sana’a streets are crowded with fully veiled woman with only their eyes peering out from behind black cloth. She says that unfortunately sexual harassment involves both unveiled and veiled women. However, men are not always the cause of the problem. “Men, when getting a welcoming attitude by a woman, will directly follow the route,” said 27-year-old Nadreen Jamal. “The woman herself is sometimes the reason for problems, especially if she wears improper clothes,” she added.

Veils in Courts
Minister of Justice, Ghazi Al-Aghbari said that his ministry had ordered female judges to take off the veil during work hours. He, further, said that the nature of work at courts required the removal of face coverings. As a result, his decision to prevent female judges from wearing veils at work raised the issue of Niqab (veil) in the House of Representatives.
MP Zaid Al-Shami said that the Minister of Justice interfered with a woman’s personal rights. “The Constitution protects a woman’s decision whether or not to remove her veil,” Al-Shami added.

Harassment of Female Workers
“Female employees, especially those in direct contact with men, are subjected to harassment,” said 26-year-old and Aden University graduate Ghadah Ali. “Even among general condition for accepting a woman in a working position is to be young, good-looking and unveiled,” she added.

Fashion to Please and Tease
Fashion stores in Sana’a continue to set fashion trends season after season. “What many women wear today mirrors their body-form-fitting,” said 31-year-old Noorah Abdul Karim. However, even though veiled, not everything could stay unknown by others. “Though they are veiled, I can know when a woman smiles; frowns, is surprised or pleased from the expression of her eyes,” she added.
“In Yemen, the majority of women wear the veil in public, while some choose not to wear it.
At numerous schools in the capital, female teachers do not wear the veil on campus, where both men and women teach, but decide to wear veils when they leave campus,” she concluded.

Against Veil
Professor and sociologist at Sana’a University, Amat Asslam Ali, is somewhat against the veil. She believes that it is one reason women feel free to talk openly with the opposite gender. “The veil could be a source for many women to lose their modesty,” she said. “When modesty goes away, everything else will follow,” she added.
In today’s Yemeni society, young people are keen for building relations with young one another and modern technology has helped greatly in this regard. The younger generation uses mobile phones to exchange photos, comments, video clips, etc. some of which are considered offensive.
Religious scholars blame the increased harassment on different social reasons. They also blame media outlets, particularly satellite channels telecasting programs full of sexual allures. “Why should we encourage women to leave their veils if they will be harassed by others?” said Qadhi Mohammed Ismael Al-Amrani, a well-known scholar in Yemen. “When people start to change their way of life as if it was only culture and not religion, it will be the beginning of major harassment against women in our society,” he added.

Female Harassment Internationally
According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women study into all forms of violence against Women, at least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime, with the abuser is usually someone known to her.
The study, also, shows that men and women alike have to invest to eliminate sexual harassment in work areas, adding that men and women have the opportunity to make it clear that this sort of behavior is unacceptable and complain if it takes place.