Sanaa // When Ghofran Nori tried to buy fuel in the Yemeni capital recently, the man running the station refused, saying, "The petrol here is only for men."
Ms Nori went to the offices of the state-owned Yemen Petroleum Company in Sanaa and complained. There should be a place where only women can buy fuel, she suggested.
Last week, the company allocated Al Shami petrol station in central Sanaa for women only and placed Ms Nori in charge.
"Now I am running this station with the help of two other girls," Ms Nori, a former public relations and communications worker in her 20s, told The National.
As the conflict in Yemen continues, people are having to go to extraordinary lengths to secure basic supplies. The shortages of fuel, food and water are forcing some women into unfamiliar roles as societal norms in this conservative country shift to cope with the crisis.
Before the conflict intensified in March, when an Arab coalition launched an air campaign against Houthi rebels who had driven Yemen's government into exile, women would never be seen working in a petrol station. Neither would they have queued for hours to get fuel, but the current tough conditions have forced them to take on tasks normally reserved for men.
The allocation of a women-only petrol station is unprecedented in Yemen. But the women now working there as unpaid volunteers feel it is a good idea.
When The National visited the Al Shami station, they were hard at work filling up vehicles in the queue.
"In the beginning the women had to wait for one whole day to get petrol, but now they can get petrol after three hours of standing in the queue," Ms Nori said as she regulated the entry of cars into the petrol station.
Some days she and her staff stay at the station until 4am to make sure everyone gets fuel, but mostly they work from 7.30am to 10.30pm, said Ms Nori, who lives in central Sanaa.
Despite the late hours, she said her family supported her in this job as they considered it a service to other women.
Um Kolthom Al Shami, another volunteer at the station who is a relative of the male owner, said Houthi militants kept guard in case men try to enter.
But she and her friends are happy with the arrangement, she said.
Sometimes men accompanied by female relatives drive up to try and take advantage of the shorter waiting time, but they get turned away.
The station only fills the tanks of vehicles and refuses to sell fuel in containers that people may bring. The pump price for petrol is 3,000 Yemeni rials (Dh51) for 20 litres - as it was even before the Houthis took over the capital - but the cost of the same quantity on the black market has risen to 20,000 rials in the past two months.
Ikram Al Sulaihi, a woman in her 20s, said the system at the Al Shami petrol station worked perfectly. The best thing, she said, was that there was no need for weapons, unlike at the other stations where customers try to get served first by using threats.
She wished there could always be women-only fuel pumps, and not just in times of crisis.
"There is no problem if this petrol station is allocated for women permanently," she said.
As Yemen's conflict has escalated, women have become more visible in the streets of Sanaa.
Early last week, a group of women were seen cycling down a main street, something unimaginable before the conflict started.
Many women now leave their homes to collect water because the shortage of fuel has stopped the supply through pipes and also affected deliveries by tankers.
Early every morning Um Ghalib pushes a wheelbarrow full of plastic containers from her home in Sanaa to a nearby well in Al Daeri street to get water.
When she reaches the well, there are already dozens of women, young and old, waiting in line for their turn to draw water.
"I come early in the morning and usually I bring around six 20-litre bottles that we can use for one day. Usually I queue for more than two hours," said Um Ghalib, who is in her 60s and lives with her son, a construction worker, and his small family.
She does not know anything about the politics behind the conflict and just considers herself a "victim of the war".
"This is the worst crisis I have seen in my life," she said.
"I do not know who is right in this war and I do not want to know. I need to sleep well, I do not like to wake up early to stand in queue to get water, and I hate this life of suffering."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Company%20profile
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One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Company%20Profile
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Company%20Profile
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Key fixtures from January 5-7
Watford v Bristol City
Liverpool v Everton
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Bournemouth v AFC Fylde or Wigan
Coventry v Stoke City
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
Fleetwood or Hereford v Leicester City
Manchester City v Burnley
Shrewsbury v West Ham United
Wolves v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Luton Town
Fulham v Southampton
Norwich City v Chelsea
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
The bio
Favourite book: Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
Favourite quote: “The world makes way for the man who knows where he is going.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist
Favourite Authors: Arab poet Abu At-Tayyib Al-Mutanabbi
Favourite Emirati food: Luqaimat, a deep-fried dough soaked in date syrup
Hobbies: Reading and drawing
The years Ramadan fell in May
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
PSL FINAL
Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
8pm, Thursday
Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT)
Tuesday
Mairobr v Liverpool
Spartak Moscow v Sevilla
Feyenoord v Shakhtar Donetsk
Manchester City v Napoli
Monaco v Besiktas
RB Leipzig v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Borussia Dortmund
Real Madrid v Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday
Benfica v Manchester United
CSKA Moscow v Basel
Bayern Munich v Celtic
Anderlecht v Paris Saint-Germain
Qarabag v Atletico Madrid
Chelsea v Roma
Barcelona v Olympiakos
Juventus v Sporting Lisbon
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
Meg%202%3A%20The%20Trench
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Ready Player One
Dir: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The%20Woman%20King%20
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
