![Students attend the university admission exams in Sanaa, Yemen on May 06, 2023 [Mohammed Hamoud - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AA-20230506-31061492-31061460-UNIVERSITY_ADMISSION_EXAMS_IN_YEMEN.jpg?resize=1200%2C800&quality=85&strip=all&zoom=1&ssl=1)
Yemen's Houthi-led government has imposed gender segregation at Sanaa University's Mass Communication College, according to a report yesterday by Saudi outlet Arab News.
The policy is part of a "morals campaign in Yemeni regions under the militia's control," the report said. Male students will be required to attend the college on different days of the week to their female peers.
The move has been justified by the Sanaa authorities and media as a means to avoid incidents of sexual harassment and to uphold Islamic norms that prohibit women from interacting from men who are not close relatives.
"What the university has done is in accordance with the female students' wishes, as they possess modesty, pride and elevated Islamic values," tweeted Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Sanaa-based Supreme Political Council. "We also said that if parents want classes to reflect the wishes of female students to keep joint studies, the field is open and will be submitted to the presidency of the university. If they reach the legal percentage, they will be taught."
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On Sunday, an article by the pro-Houthi Al-Thawra newspaper claimed that: "Western studies reveal the devastating effects of mixing in universities. Mixing kills ambition, buries creativity and eliminates student intelligence."
University professor Dr Ibrahim Al-Kebsi, a critic of the Houthi movement, was arrested last year for speaking out against the de-facto authorities on social media. He was quoted by Arab News as saying: "I call on the Yemeni people, all students in universities, colleges and institutes, as well as the faculty of all Yemeni universities, to reject this decision and to proclaim the suspension of studies until this authority apologises to the Yemeni people."
Despite bans on public gender segregation being lifted in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the practice still exists in higher education (HE), although schools may now offer coeducational classes in some grade levels including grade 4 and above. A study published last year found that, "Although considerable progress has been made in terms of female participation, Saudi HE continues to offer ample career-advancing opportunities to men while restricting women's prospects."
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