Nawal is a thirty-year old, single girl, from Al-Mishnah District , Ibb Governorate . She  lives with a family dominated by injustice and deprivation, where male brothers have the right to control and impose orders on females, up to the point of beating and deprivation of most basic  rights .

The survivor says: "I was severely beaten by one of my brothers and my mother was present and did nothing to stop him, and my mother's response was: "Listen to your brother's words” , I was beaten several times in front of my mother and father, which made my young brothers see this male domination as normal".

 When the survivor Nawal reached the age of 17, she had reached the second grade of secondary school. She was prevented from continuing her education as her father  excuse was his  inability  to  afford her education expenses, despite providing her male brothers with all the expenses and requirements of the school .

Says the survivor Nawal "My father deprived me of my most basic rights, which is education , I had dreamed since my childhood that I would be a doctor in the future”.

Later, Nawal’s two  younger sisters got married , while the survivor was 25 years old at that time, and she had not yet married. She was subjected to ridicule by her family, who calibrated her as a spinster, and they were embarrassed to take her to the occasions that the family was invited to attend and prevented her from attending or going with them, because one of the customs and traditions of their village is that girls marry at an early age and  the eldest girl should be married  first.

The survivor says: "Once my family got a wedding invitation from a relative in the village, my father decided to go with all the family members to attend the wedding except me. He refused to take me saying that  people would mock me that I am old and did not marry  yet and that  my sisters married before me”.

The harsh treatment that the survivor was subjected to by her family affected her psychological state, so she felt disappointment, sadness, depression, distress, oppression, insomnia, feelings of discomfort, loss of self-confidence, feelings of inferiority and loss of appetite, as she had suicidal thoughts and delusions of conspiracy and persecution , so she began to suffer from psychotic symptoms and these symptoms led the survivor to enter into conflict and altercations with her family until she began to practice aggressive behavior against her family as she once  hit  her mother and vandalized the furniture of the house.

One of their neighbors heard that there are ongoing problems and disagreements between the survivor and her family , so the neighbor praised the necessity of taking the survivor to the Psychological Support Center in Ibb Governorate, where the neighbor explained that Nawal will receive psychological support services in the  PSS center for free and this what prompted the mother to take Nawal to the  PSS center.

الترجمة طويلة جدًا ولا يمكن حفظها.

The survivor, Nawal, attended to  the Psychological Support Center, and an evaluation session was conducted and some psychological measures were taken that proved that she suffers from schizophrenia. In the second session, a plan was made with the patient to confront this problem, and she was referred to the psychiatrist, who in turn evaluated the case and made a medication plan that coincided with the treatment plan. After conducting a number of psychological and follow-up sessions, it became clear that the case really began to respond to psychological and pharmacological treatment.

After nearly six months of continuous treatment, psychological sessions, and evaluation through evaluation lists on a monthly basis, it was noted that the survivor improved and many symptoms such as hallucinations, doubts and aggression had vanished. A family counseling session was also held in which both the survivor's mother and her brother attended, where they discussed the survivor's condition and the correct methods of dealing with her. With the encouragement of the psychologist and the persuasion of the survivor’s family, Nawal returned to continue her high school education and began memorizing the Holy Qur’an. She joined a course in the manufacture of accessories in an association that trains and rehabilitates women in several fields such as sewing, engraving and accessories, where she made and sold many bracelets and necklaces.

The survivor said:” I had lost my hope in life and wished to die every minute, and I had a wild desire to get rid of this torment and kill myself, but now hope for life has returned to me and I look to the future with a bright look, optimism and satisfaction."

A lot of women and girls in Yemen suffer from violence and harassment, and it can be said that     they are buried alive. Many ages pass as if they are a pending death under a patriarchal system that gives absolute power to men.

There are no adequate statistics on domestic violence against women in Yemen , as it is not considered a “real” problem for the community, as the community sees that what happens inside the  home is the concern of the family, no matter what, and no one dares to enter to rescue the victims .

Women are also reluctant to report attacks because of fear and stigma.

Funded by the United Nations Population Fund, the Psychiatric  Care Developmental Foundation implements the Psychological Support Center Project in Al Mashna District , Ibb Governorate, which provides specialized and non-specialized psychological support services to gender based violence survivors and Women and girls at risk of GBV violence.

5. pseudonym for the survivor has been used in the story for privacy and protection purposes.