The Houthi militia forces in the ‘Amran Governorate of Yemen have been conducting a large-scale intimidation campaign against male and female artists to prevent them from performing or singing at venues and events.
Videos showing violent incursions by armed Houthi militants into venues and event halls as the men arrest and abruptly end the celebrations have been circulated on social media over the past few weeks.
According to reports from Yemen, the forces have abducted over 15 wedding hall owners so far. Purportedly, these people are being held in pretrial detention centers for over two months now – under the accusation that they are refusing to pledge not to allow artists to perform at their establishments. Other reports claimed that about 40 civilians were kidnapped by Houthi authorities, including two women – all of whom are either artists or wedding hall custodians
Moreover, especially since a new governor named Nayef Abu Kharafshah was appointed to govern the northwestern governorate of ‘Amran, the Iranian-backed militia group has reportedly imprisoned several artists along with their musical and audio equipment.
Significantly, this very same Abu Kharafshah was documented attending an event that featured musical performances, leading an Al-Arabiya anchor to comment, “What is halal to them is haram to all others.”
In another response, Yemeni bloggers launched an online campaign titled “Why were they imprisoned?” in reference to the odd circumstances of the artists’ arrests.
One user wrote for instance, “Why did they imprison them? Are ISIS members hiding inside the oud [a musical instrument]? They deliberately spoil even the joy of weddings and turn them into sadness and tragedy. If they were keen on the people’s money that they plundered and built villas with, this would not be forbidden.”
Another user wrote: “But why do they imprison artists in ‘Amran? Are their voices too loud? Do they not know how to play an oud or anything? Is ‘Amran a state that has a special law that differs from other regions?”
This is not the first time that such arrests happened in Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen. In May, they prevented a mass wedding of 160 brides and grooms in the city of Hababa in the ‘Amran Governorate, also due to the presence of a singer.
Further, the Houthis reportedly stormed tourist facilities in the city of Ibb and caused several hotels and restaurants to close down. Additionally, local human rights organizations claimed that roughly 600 citizens were “kidnapped” and are being held without trials in facilities across Sanaa and Saada.
‘A method of exerting control over the population’
Inbal Nissim-Louvton, who is an expert on modern Yemen, a research fellow at the Forum for Regional Thinking, and a lecturer at the Open University, explained that this ban was issued as part of an ongoing effort by the Houthi government to elicit what it deems “appropriate behavior” from a religious and moral standpoint, fasten the Houthis’ grip on its civilian populations, and even reap economic profit.
“From the beginning of the civil war in Yemen in 2014, the Houthis took control of various means of communications in the country and channelled these to their needs,” Nissim-Louvton reminded. “As a first step, they nationalized official media channels and took over media bodies, gradually expanding their activities.”
According to her, the current ban on singing and performances, which also includes restrictions on shops that sell movies and music, is not at all new.
“For example, in the summer of 2021, the Houthis banned singing and music performances at social events in the capital, Sanaa, and in other areas under their control. Local Houthis appointed Gov. Abd al-Basit Hadi and issued a statement prohibiting men and women from appearing at weddings in Sanaa as well,” Nissim-Louvton explained.
“This is one of a series of measures taken by the Houthis by which they sought to enforce their interpretation of religious and moral codes on others. The closing of cafés, restaurants, and other public entertainment places, the detention and arrest of artists, and the cancellation of cultural events and artistic activities – all of these were practices essentially no different from those that al-Qaeda militants attempted to do in the past in Yemen.
“Al-Qaeda combatants (named Abna’ Hadramawt – the Sons of Hadramawt) have even come out against the common, accepted practice in Yemen of chewing khat [ a plant that commonly grows in eastern and southeastern Africa],” Nissim-Louvton continued.
Moreover, “at the beginning of 2015, they banned the sale of the plant in various cities in southern Yemen. They distributed leaflets in which al-Qaeda imposed fines on those who still sold khat in public spaces and they even set fire to several shops in the Mukalla area, the capital of the Haderamwat district in the coastal area of southeastern Yemen.”
Nissim-Louvton explained that from time to time, the Houthis try to deepen their control by forcing their religious convictions on others via various restrictions. “Perhaps this is also an attempt to divert attention from their inability to manage the Houthi state that they created or protect its citizens,” she added.
However, similar to what the Al-Arabia anchor said, Nissim-Louvton underlined that this ban does not seem to apply to the Houthis themselves.
“Houthi forces encourage store owners to promote music that glorifies the Houthis themselves and the war that they have been waging for almost a decade through a certain rhetoric – a genre called Zawamel.
“This is a form of tribal poetry used as a means of propaganda to promote Houthi influence among younger people, recruit fighters and supporters, and shape public opinion in their territories. In addition, they collect royalties and become main suppliers for stores, thus expanding their independent economic network, which includes heavy and extensive taxation.”
Finally, another grim aspect of what is sometimes regarded as the “Taliban state model” of the Houthis, Nissim-Louvton pressed, includes various restrictions on women’s freedom of movement, the imposition of male guardianship over women, and the activation of a sort of women’s police unit. These task forces have been operating since 2017 in different regions, nicknamed the Zainabiyat.