In the war-torn streets of Sana’a, a new and deeply alarming force has emerged: the Zainabiyyat battalion — a female security apparatus operating behind black abayas and veiled faces.
Under the banner of modesty and religious virtue, this force has become one of the Houthi movement’s most potent tools for reshaping Yemeni society from within — especially in controlling and intimidating women.
Origins and Evolution
Although the Zainabiyyat’s roots trace back to the period before the Houthis’ takeover of the capital in September 2014, their full force only became apparent after the group seized power.
Initially composed of women from impoverished or marginalised backgrounds, recruits are trained by experts allegedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
Their purpose is not to fight on the frontlines, but to exert pervasive social control: surveilling, policing, and enforcing ideological loyalty among Yemen’s civilian population, particularly within women's spaces.
Over time, the Zainabiyyat evolved into a security and intelligence unit whose reach is as effective — and in some cases more insidious — than their male counterparts.
Regional Inspirations
The structure of the Zainabiyyat bears unmistakable resemblance to Iran’s Basij female brigades and the tactics of Islamist militant groups like Daesh.
Both Islamist groups use women to police female-only spaces.
Internally, the battalion has been divided into specialised units:
- Military enforcement
- Electronic surveillance
- Detention and interrogation
- Preventive intelligence gathering
These units operate with chilling efficiency, often beyond the visibility or scrutiny faced by male security forces.
Tactics of Fear and Control
Zainabiyyat members are tasked with raiding women’s mosques to enforce Houthi religious doctrine, monitoring private gatherings, pursuing female activists, and carrying out arrests — frequently without any legal justification.
There are numerous documented cases of physical and psychological torture at unofficial detention centers.
Victims reported forced confessions, blackmail, and brutal abuses.
An activist detained in 2019, identified as “A.M.,” recalled:
"I never imagined that women would be the ones torturing me. They threatened me with rape and exploited every vulnerability they could find."
The battalion’s role extends beyond surveillance and arrests.
As the war intensified and economic conditions worsened, Zainabiyyat operatives began coercing women to donate money, jewelry, and support for the Houthis’ military efforts.
Refusal could result in punishment — from denial of essential services like cooking gas to blacklisting within the community.
Institutionalisation of Repression
In 2020, the Houthis granted official military ranks to Zainabiyyat members, rewarding loyalty with formal recognition.
Some operatives were even deployed to battlefronts, blurring the line between internal policing and external warfare.
International Community Slowly Wakes Up
International scrutiny has grown.
In 2021, the United Nations sanctioned Houthi security official Sultan Zaben for his role in overseeing the Zainabiyyat’s network of torture and surveillance.
The UN’s sanctions affirmed the battalion’s transition from a propaganda arm into a fully operational apparatus of repression.
Human Rights Abuses: A Chilling Record
According to human rights reports:
- Over 1,400 documented violations have been linked to the Zainabiyyat over five years.
- These include 1,181 unlawful arrests, 274 forced disappearances, and 71 cases of rape.
- Four suicides have been recorded among women subjected to severe psychological abuse.
The Human Rights Information and Training Center reports that Sana’a alone contains over 200 secret detention facilities, operated in converted prisons, government buildings, and private homes.
Victims range from 14 to 60 years old, with reports describing brutal sexual violence and unrelenting psychological torture.
Gender as a Weapon
The Zainabiyyat represent a disturbing transformation of gender roles in conflict: from marginalised figures to agents of authoritarianism.
By weaponising women against women, the Houthis have accessed spaces traditionally shielded from state control, embedding surveillance and repression into the most private spheres of Yemeni life.
The battalion’s existence exposes a grim reality — that despotism can adopt any form, even one cloaked in modesty and religious virtue.
With quiet ruthlessness, the Zainabiyyat have become instruments of one of the harshest internal security systems Yemen has ever seen.
In Yemen’s fractured war, the Zainabiyyat stand as a chilling reminder that authoritarian power can wear any face — even that of the oppressed.
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