The tough cookies of Yemen

These women & hundreds of others in Sana’a, Yemen have been protesting & camping in a public square for over a year to demand regime change in Yemen & the prosecution of the old dictator, Ali Abdullah Saleh. The US-backed regime tried to snooker them with a deal leaving the regime intact, giving immunity from prosecution to Saleh, & denying justice to those murdered & incarcerated during the uprising. The intransigence of these protestors has not just broadened the parameters of political resistance but also the dimensions of the struggle for women’s emancipation. As we know from the women’s & civil rights struggles (Trayvon Martin being the latest example), attire has political importance. There’s something about veiled women leading a revolution that jangles perceptions & prejudices & gives the struggle for women’s & democratic rights a new energy & a new leadership. (Photo by Khaled Abdullah)