Sana'a -- The Yemeni Network for Rights and Freedoms has revealed alarming figures documenting 1,654 violations committed by the Zainabiyat, the all-female militia affiliated with the Iran-backed Houthi group. 

These violations, recorded between 2017 and 2024, include killings, abductions, arbitrary detentions, torture, and assaults on women activists.

According to the report, the Zainabiyat—established as a female enforcement wing of the Houthis—have played a central role in suppressing dissent and targeting civilians. 

Their activities range from raiding homes and arresting women without legal warrants to beating and intimidating female protesters in Houthi-controlled areas. 

Victims include humanitarian workers, civil society activists, and ordinary citizens caught in the group’s crackdown.

Human rights monitors noted that the Zainabiyat’s operations often involve forced disappearances and sexual violence in secret detention centers, raising grave concerns about systematic abuse. 

The report also highlighted cases of looting, extortion, and harassment of families of detainees, further deepening the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

International observers, including the U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Human Rights Report, have echoed these findings, stressing that the Houthis continue to engage in arbitrary killings, unlawful detentions, and torture across territories under their control. 

The Zainabiyat’s role has been particularly significant in extending the Houthis’ reach into spaces traditionally inaccessible to male fighters, amplifying the group’s ability to silence opposition.

Rights advocates are calling for urgent international pressure to hold the Houthis accountable and to protect Yemeni women and activists from further abuses. 

The revelations underscore the broader pattern of violations committed by the Houthis, which have exacerbated Yemen’s already dire humanitarian situation.