Young women in Yemen are securing professional, economic, and leadership opportunities that were unobtainable to them before their participation in the Young Women’s Leadership Program (YWLP) [8].
One of these women, Enas Nathier Kalusi, was tired of working in a local factory and dreamed of becoming a teacher. When rejected for a teaching position, she applied to YWLP, a rigorous two-year program that she was unsure she would enjoy.
Initially unfamiliar with the coursework or its potential benefits, Enas now says that the courses on communication, leadership, English, and NGO training changed her life and allows her to do anything. YWLP changed her way of thinking and, in just two years, awarded her a job managing a virtual exchange program at the very school that originally declined her application to become a teacher.
Now the coordinator of Connecting Classrooms—a virtual exchange program funded by the British Council—Enas enjoys expressing her opinion and being respected by other professionals. Her employment enables her to travel to the United Kingdom for training and to meet with prominent leaders in Yemen. Enas writes, “Sometimes I do not believe I am with all these famous people sitting beside the school manager…really it is unbelievable to have all these opportunities. It is because of the subjects we studied, which are crucial to our society right now.”
Like Enas, other young women trained in the media and NGO management programs are assuming new roles and are influencing Yemen’s public sector. Thirty-one women have already received internships or jobs with local and international NGOs, radio stations, newspapers, and publishing companies.
YWLP is funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). IREX partners in Yemen with The Girls World Communication Center, which administers the program courses.
