SANAA — A new United Nations-backed report has revealed a sharp escalation in the role of the “Zainabiyat,” an all-female militia affiliated with Yemen’s Houthi movement, in suppressing women and violating human rights in areas under Houthi control, particularly the capital, Sanaa.

According to the report, the Zainabiyat have become a central tool in the Houthis’ internal security apparatus, tasked with surveilling, arresting, and intimidating women activists, journalists, and civilians. 

The group has been implicated in arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, physical and psychological abuse, and the use of sexual violence as a means of coercion.

The Zainabiyat, originally formed in Saada over a decade ago, have expanded their operations significantly since the Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014. 

Trained in tactics modeled after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the unit recruits women—often from marginalized communities—and deploys them in raids on homes, universities, and public gatherings.

The report highlights how the Zainabiyat operate with impunity, often bypassing judicial oversight and using threats of social stigma to silence victims. In many cases, detained women are accused of “immorality” or “espionage” without evidence, and are denied access to legal representation or family contact.

Human rights organizations have condemned the growing militarization of women under the Houthis, warning that the Zainabiyat’s actions constitute a systematic campaign of gender-based repression. 

The report calls on the international community to pressure the Houthis to disband the unit and ensure accountability for abuses.

The revelations come amid broader concerns over the deteriorating human rights situation in Yemen, where years of conflict have left millions vulnerable to violence, displacement, and exploitation.