A Different Way of Life

Our friend Kat just got back from Yemen. Her job was to gather information so she can write a report on the effectiveness of some educational programs in different regions of the country. She has collected some fascinating stories.

For example, here is a photograph of some female teachers outside their school.



They keep the veil on while teaching primary school kids. In the West, we know that communication is 90% facial expression and body language. How do these children learn when 90% of the signals they receive are hidden? But most communities and many teachers are not comfortable being in public without the veil.

In the markets of old Sana'a, many vendors stock backless, spaghetti strap dresses with low cuts. Who buys these? Apparently, the veiled women. Under their veils, they are scantily dressed, fully made up and manicured. You see this when women retreat to the women's quarters, away from the men. There, they take off their black veils and gowns to reveal glamour rivalling any Hollywood starlet.

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Here are some older girls who want to go to school, but they can't. Schools generally don't accommodate older girls in the classroom. The Man tells me one reason is there aren't enough female teachers so when girls get to a certain age, their parents pull them out of school.



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There are regional differences in the veil. In more remote villages, only women's faces are hidden.



But look how colourful they are.

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Here is a camel waiting outside a shop while its owner, still holding on to the camel's rope, goes inside the shop for tobacco.



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In hot climates, men do the practical thing. They wear scarves for relief. Men in skirts. Not an issue.