Aden (South24) 

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The establishment of the Southern Women's Union was announced earlier today at a founding conference in the capital, Aden, attended by a high-profile and influential group of women from South Yemen.

By acclamation, the well-known activist Nada Al-Oubli was elected President of the Southern Women’s Union, and Zakia Bahashwan was chosen as Secretary-General.

This stands as the foremost event for women in South Yemen, marking a significant shift from years of declining influence due to political factors, as described by Southerners.

In a statement to South24 Center, the freshly elected Oubli said: “This is an important step for women in the South. We are restoring our role, which was marginalized by the Yemeni unity regime from 1990 until recently.”

"This is the fruit of our struggle. We are still at the beginning of the road to achieving justice for Southern women, who dominated all areas of life in this region decades ago," she added.

Al-Oubli said that the upcoming plans of the Southern Women’s Union include encouraging, supporting, and empowering women in public jobs, leadership, and entrepreneurial positions.

The head of the Youth Vision Foundation for Development and Human Rights, lawyer Naeema Bawazer, described the establishment of the Southern Women’s Union as “a new radiance for Southern women.”

She told South24 Center that “as Southern women, we are proud of this event in light of the positive political changes toward the independence of our country".

“Today, Southern women are moving from the stage of revolutionary struggle to the stage of true partnership. We congratulate this step and applaud the support of the President of the Southern Transitional Council, Aidrous Al-Zubaidi,” Bawazer added.