ID :
180863
Mon, 05/09/2011 - 13:05
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/180863
The shortlink copeid
Yemeni Women Reiterate Continued Protests against Saleh
TEHRAN, May 9 (FNA)- Thousands of Yemeni women staged demonstrations and rallies in the capital Sana'a and other cities across the country to show they don't care for President Ali Abdullah Saleh 's view that it is un-Islamic for women to join men in demonstrations against his rule.
The women, many clad in black dress with full face veils, said their role in protests was religiously sound and called on the president to step down in line with nearly three months of demonstrations demanding his resignation.
"It seems that President Saleh failed in all his efforts to employ tribes and security to strike at those seeking his exit, and so he resorted to using religion, specially after he saw that thousands of women were taking part in protests," said Samia al-Aghbari, a leader in the protest movement.
Saleh, who has warned of civil war and the break-up of Yemen if he is forced out before organizing an orderly transition, urged the opposition on Friday to reconsider their refusal to join talks to resolve the crisis.
But he also struck a defiant tone, calling the opposition liars and bandits, and appealing to religious sensitivities in the Muslim country by criticizing the mixing of unrelated men and women among Sana'a protesters.
About 5,000 women demonstrated against the president in Sana'a on Saturday, with similar numbers in the industrial city of Taiz, south of the capital.
The protests have had the support of the main opposition coalition, whose largest member is the Islamic party, Islah.
"Oh youth, the honor of women has been slandered," the women chanted, referring to Saleh's remarks.
Some women brought their young daughters to the protests, including one with her face painted with the image of the Yemeni flag encircled by a heart on her cheek and the word "Leave" scrawled on her forehead.
"If Saleh read the Quran he wouldn't have made this accusation," said one protester, who gave her name only as Majda. "We ask he be tried according to Islamic law."
The women, many clad in black dress with full face veils, said their role in protests was religiously sound and called on the president to step down in line with nearly three months of demonstrations demanding his resignation.
"It seems that President Saleh failed in all his efforts to employ tribes and security to strike at those seeking his exit, and so he resorted to using religion, specially after he saw that thousands of women were taking part in protests," said Samia al-Aghbari, a leader in the protest movement.
Saleh, who has warned of civil war and the break-up of Yemen if he is forced out before organizing an orderly transition, urged the opposition on Friday to reconsider their refusal to join talks to resolve the crisis.
But he also struck a defiant tone, calling the opposition liars and bandits, and appealing to religious sensitivities in the Muslim country by criticizing the mixing of unrelated men and women among Sana'a protesters.
About 5,000 women demonstrated against the president in Sana'a on Saturday, with similar numbers in the industrial city of Taiz, south of the capital.
The protests have had the support of the main opposition coalition, whose largest member is the Islamic party, Islah.
"Oh youth, the honor of women has been slandered," the women chanted, referring to Saleh's remarks.
Some women brought their young daughters to the protests, including one with her face painted with the image of the Yemeni flag encircled by a heart on her cheek and the word "Leave" scrawled on her forehead.
"If Saleh read the Quran he wouldn't have made this accusation," said one protester, who gave her name only as Majda. "We ask he be tried according to Islamic law."
