Yemen – Human rights activist reveals the Houthi militia’s plan to target the educational process in their favor
The Houthi terrorist militia continues its crimes and terrorist plans by repressing teachers and distorting school curricula. Houthi is working to turn Yemen’s schools into “military barracks” and platforms that promote violence and racism.
Local reports indicate that the Houthi militia is using education, particularly at the secondary and tertiary levels, to bargain with families to push some of their children to the front lines to fight in their ranks in exchange for educating the rest of their children.
Terrorist offenses
A human rights report has documented thousands of violations committed by the Houthi militia – the Iranian arm in Yemen – including the right to life, physical integrity and freedom, the destruction and looting of private and public property, violations of the rights of children and women, and violations of the right to education, among others.
Human Rights Investigative Service (HRW) said in its first report that it documented the direct killing by the Houthi militia of 164 civilians, including 18 children and 15 women, 131 civilians in indiscriminate shelling, and 34 civilians due to the planting of mines and improvised explosive devices. Among the victims were four women, six children, and 26 wounded in Hajjah Governorate.
It documented the Houthi militia seizing 34 government facilities and headquarters in Hajjah and converting them to their own headquarters for various activities, and subjected 15 government headquarters to total destruction and 19 to partial destruction, as well as 21 violations, including two bombings, 6 to military positions, 12 to Houthi militia activities and one to burn.
The report said that the Houthi militia has contributed to cutting the salaries of 17,000 educators since the end of 2016 to date, forcing 2,045 teachers and educators to attend its sectarian cultural courses, in addition to 2,334 cases of fund-raising in the name of student fees in Hajjah Governorate.
The report concluded by saying that the names of 31 schools in Hajjah province were changed to those of leaders and commanders glorified by the Houthi militia, noting that the Houthi militia uses school radio stations in 1,123 schools to mobilize children to the front lines, exposing them to death and injury, and forcing them to repeat its slogan, which is considered a sectarian slogan and not accepted in national culture.
Iran’s plans
Yemeni human rights activist, Ahmed Jabbari, says: The Houthi plan to turn schools in areas controlled by the Houthi militia into hideouts to attract and recruit children, a source of pride for terrorist elements, and to create a generation of ideologues with a culture of death and hatred. This is a major threat to regional and international security, and it requires action by the international community on the Houthi militia supported by Iran to neutralize the educational process from the conflict.
He said the amount of pressure, diktat and extortion they have put on private and private schools in favor of their destructive activities, deducting teachers’ salaries, adding that they have mobilized students and dragged them into battle, poisoned children’s minds with extremist, dark views and produced a generation of terrorists who pose a threat to the security of Yemen and the world.
Since taking control of the capital Sana’a in September 2014, Houthi militias have sought to incorporate fundamental changes in basic education curricula in line with their ideological, religious and sectarian orientation, using it to serve their Iranian-backed sectarian project, he said.
