The women from Yemen who support the UN mediator in Gottröra

A large majority of those forced to flee because of Jemenkriget are women and children, driven away from their homes since the breadwinner – the man, killed in battles or attacks. Among these internally displaced persons, it is not uncommon for young women or girls allowed to take on the whole försörjningsansvaret for the younger siblings. In war tracks also increases the barnäktenskapen, shows a recently released report from the united nations children's fund Unicef.

that Yemeni women are extra vulnerable in the almost four-year long and bloody war, is not reflected in the peace talks that are currently taking place on Johannesbergs castle north of Stockholm.

There is a massive predominance of men among the two delegations from the war's main actors, regeringssidan and huthierna. A single woman sits at the negotiating table – the diplomat Rana Ghanem, included in the regeringssidans group.

Martin Griffiths, the UN's special Jemensändebud which leads mediation efforts, has made a valiant attempt to break the massive male dominance. Griffiths has created a special female rådgivarstab: eight women from Yemeni civil society that follow the negotiations and provide the united nations representative of their views.

Sweden's foreign minister Margot Wallström and the UN mediator Martin Griffiths during a press briefing. Photo: Beatrice Lundborg

Agree Alarashi and Asmahan al-Alas, in a break in the negotiations at the castle. They are both well educated and have a solid experience of working in ngos in Yemen.

Agree Alarashi is an accountant in a multinational company and divides his time between Cairo and the Yemeni capital sana'a. She has been active in an organization such as clearing land mines, and she was also active during the arab spring, when Hundreds of young people went out and protested against the established power elite in the country.

Asmahan al-Ala is professor of history at the university of Aden and is a veteran in the fight to increase the proportion of women in the Yemeni parliament. In her research, she has focused on the role Yemeni women played in the country's development.

the religious extremism in Yemen and given the increased space for terrorist organisations. It is extra devastating for the country's women, " Asmahan al Alas.

Agree Alarashi out that women are hit harder than men by the lack of security that followed the war trail.

– It is the men who carry the guns, the women who are the victims. Therefore it is extra important that the Yemeni women have a voice at the tables, " she says.

received criticism for being a symbolic decoration, a concession to the political correctness that has no real significance.

Asmahan al Alas and Agree Alarashi firmly opposes the the description:

" No, we are not ”kvinnogisslan”. It would be of course even better if we were there at the tables where the real decisions are made. But I think this is a good start, and I absolutely feel that our opinions count, " says professor al-Alas.

Agree Alarashi fill in:

– We have a review by Martin Griffiths each day, a meeting lasting up to an hour. In addition to this, we follow the work of the committees formed. We are working hard and purposefully.

– so Far have the discussions been very much on the humanitarian issues: the need to open airports and ports to bring in food aid, the need for a cease-fire and exchange of prisoners so that families can be reunited. We can provide testimonials from the ground on how the situation is in Yemen, says Asmahan al Alas.

– in Addition, we are independent, we are free from the respective group. We are the third party, those affected by the war and samhällskollapsen, inskjuter Agree Alarashi.