SANA?A* 7 Oct. ? The state deals with tribes as a political entity not as a social entity and the Yemeni tribe often predominates the authority and laws of the Yemeni state* academics affirmed last Monday. "The state deals with the tribe as a political entity; this is not acceptable and the tribe should be confined to its social role*" said Shafe?e Al-Abd a member of the local council and an activist from Shabwa* speaking at the workshop on the political role of the tribe in Yemen. He further stressed the necessity of activating the state power through the consolidation of equal citizenship and the respect of human rights. Modern institutions in Yemen are based on traditional tribal bases and this hinders political and social development* according to a number of Yemeni academics who believe that the tribal law often takes precedence over the law of the state. "The president of the state tackles problems according to tribal norms that support the tribe's political role*" said Abdul Salam Razaz assistant general secretariat of the popular forces union political party.Dr. Fuad Al-Salahi* sociology professor in Sana?a University* pointed out that the governing elite supported tribal values according to interests shared with sheikhs. Al-Salahi added that the persistence of a traditional structure of state hindered the implementation of political activity and curbed the development of modern institutions* such as the judiciary. He emphasized the need to convert loyalty to the tribe into loyalty to the nation. Academics further noted that the Yemeni electoral system was partial to the tribal elite and facilitated its presence in parliament. They emphasized the inconsistency of the current electoral system in a country where the governing elite claims political pluralism. Huria Mashhour* the deputy of the National Committee for Women* stated that tribal structures hindered the development of society and women* emphasizing that many laws rendered difficult the participation of women in the political arena* a phenomenon in slow decline since the beginning of the 1990s.Dr Afaf Al-Haimi a Professor of social science at Sana'a University and member of the state and the research team criticized political parties that have proven their lack of faith in women* especially during the last local and parliamentary elections which reflected tribal male dominance.Al-Haimi pointed to the existing gap in education between men and women in Yemen* indicating that for every 100 boys enrolled in school* there were only 76 girls enrolled* and that this figure tended to drop to 44 girls during the course of education....

المزيد...