JINHA

NEWS CENTER –Women in Yemen are fighting for an end to the war with filmmaking and peace activism.

With the Saudi-led coalition announcing a five-day break in the bombing scheduled for today, anxieties are high in Yemen about whether the ceasefire will hold. Heavy bombing was reported within hours of the scheduled start time of the ceasefire.

For Yemeni women, many of whom lived under the harsh policies of Houthi-controlled areas for months, the Saudi-led and U.S.-supported airstrikes have only increased their suffering. 1,000 Yemenis have died in just five weeks of airstrikes. With a fuel shortage in Yemen, which imports 90% of its food, aid organizations have been unable to reach populations in need. Just days after aid workers repaired the landing strip in Sana'a used for bringing in aid, Saudi airstrikes destroyed it again on Thursday. Aid organizations have been calling for an immediate end to airstrikes.

Sarah Ahmed, 27, is a sociologist and filmmaker based in Sana'a. Sarah, along with Abdurahman Hussain, founded the film project Support Yemen to call attention to the struggle of the people of Yemen. "In 2011, Yemenis wanted social justice," Tweeted Sarah. "Now all they want is one hour of electricity." By documenting the war with short documentary films available on YouTube, Support Yemen works to show the cost of the war being played out at the expense of the Yemeni people. In spite of the electricity cuts in Yemen and the dangers of being a filmmaker during war, the project is continuing to produce short films.

“Unfortunately, holding a camera or a pen is much more risky than holding a weapon,” said Sarah, speaking with PRI. “We continue to film, even though it's not that safe these days. But we’re ready to face the odds, because this is what we have, and we’re just trying to cling to whatever is still there. If we give up, then there is nothing to hold on to. We see this as our means to survive until the war is over.”

Women around the world have been calling for an end to the war in Yemen, saying it is one started by outside powers at the expense of the Yemeni people, who just a few years ago executed a successful popular revolution. After a call by Yemeni women at the conference held in the Hague on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, women delegates wrote a letter denouncing international powers' complicity in the devastation of Yemen and demanding immediate action.

Women presented the letter to the governments of Britain, the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Russia, China, Germany, Egypt and France on April 30. The letter called for international powers to stop the war, permit the movements of aid organizations and work with Yemeni women's groups and NGOs.

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