The great journalist and media figure, Dr Raoufah Hassan

Yemen

Yamanat

Mohammed Shamsan

A high-caliber academic, journalist, broadcaster, writer and national activist, she was the first to raise the banner of demanding the rights of Yemeni women and the first to establish the Media Department at Sanaa University, College of Arts, in 1991 AD, after a long struggle and great efforts with the relevant authorities to achieve this. She was also the first to create associations, institutions and organizations specialized in women’s activity and to defend their rights, and she was the first to open the door to demand the need to allow Yemeni women to participate in various aspects of life: political, cultural, social, legal and civil. economic and other areas that contribute to creating public life within Yemeni society.

The great doctor and journalist Raoufah Hassan is one of the figures of Yemen in the modern era, and her activity and efforts cannot be defined in the field of media, women or higher education. She – may God have mercy on her – left her mark in all areas of Yemeni life, and she was and still is one of the most important and impactful figures of modernity and civil development in Yemen and the Arab region in general.

The late Dr. Raoufah Hassan grew up in the Old City of Sanaa, “Al-Tabari District,” in a middle-income family at that time. Her strong will allowed her to continue her studies and, from middle school, she began working on the radio station “Sanaa Radio” through children’s programs. Then her talents developed to become one of the most prominent presenters in the seventies, after overcoming many obstacles that hindered her work on the radio during this period when Yemeni society did not accept women’s work, but rather considered their voices shameful. Although she was forced to change her name from Ummat Al-Raouf Hussein to Raofa Hassan, in order not to embarrass her family in society, she was able to achieve many great achievements in her work on radio and television, and in the field of journalism and media in general, in the seventies and eighties of the last century.

After graduating from high school in Sana’a, Dr. Raoufah – may God have mercy on her – obtained a scholarship to the Arab Republic of Egypt, where she studied media at the journalism department and earned a bachelor’s degree. Then she returned in the early 1980s and joined the newspaper “Al-Thawra” as editor-in-chief, then head of the newspaper’s investigations department, becoming the first woman to occupy a journalistic management position in northern Yemen.

The deceased was able to progress considerably in the practice of journalism and her journalistic importance increased from time to time. She began to be active in the area of ​​women’s issues and the need to uphold their rights and allow them to participate. She was the first to call for the need for women’s participation in elections and the registration of their names on the electoral roll, until this goal was actually achieved. She ran for parliament in the 1988 elections, which took place in northern Yemen.

She completed her higher education and obtained a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Information of Cairo University, specializing in journalism (1980), and obtained a master’s degree from Vermont College of Norwich University in the United States (1984), then obtained a doctorate in sociology from the University of Paris in France (1991). After that, she returned to Yemen to work at the Faculty of Arts at Sana’a University. It was the beginning of her third stage in her journalistic experience, but it was one of the most important and difficult stages that she went through, but she was stronger and more courageous than all these difficulties and obstacles that stood in her way, thus creating the glory of Yemeni women and a new history for their role in contributing to decision-making and management of public life in general.

The period between 1991 and 2011 AD represented a period of great achievements for the late Dr. Raoufah Hassan, may God have mercy on her, as she intensified her academic, media, legal, feminist and social activities more broadly, and struggled in various aspects and fields in order to triumph for the values ​​of modernity, civility and development, and to raise the level of consciousness of Yemeni society, to be able to keep pace with modern developments. She led fierce battles against traditional forces, against official authorities and against certain political parties. And centers of tribal, political and military influence throughout Yemen. Multiple political and civil alliances have been formed to advocate for public issues, human rights, women’s rights and all national issues.

I cannot shed light on all the stages, stations and details of the journalistic experience of the late Dr. Raoufah Hassan, because there is not enough space here for it, and not even 20% of it can be achieved, so I will limit myself to highlighting the most important successes and achievements that were achieved in the hands of the deceased, may God have mercy on her, as a kind of return to this great journalistic and patriotic personality.

Dr. Raoufah Hassan accomplished many things that benefited the country, society, Yemeni women, media professionals, journalists, activists and others. Among these achievements are the following:

* Opening of the Department of Media at the Faculty of Arts, University of Sana’a, 1991 AD.

* An independent college to study all media specializations, represented by the current Media College, 1998 AD.

* Empower Yemeni women to participate in elections and run for any leadership position.

* Form civil, political and human rights alliances to advocate for Yemeni women’s issues and defend their rights.

* Creation of a number of women’s organizations, institutions and associations dedicated to the development and qualification of the capabilities of Yemeni women.

* Creation of the Center for Research and Studies on Women at the University of Sanaa.

* Coordinate and communicate with a large number of international human rights, feminist and development organizations, and benefit from their expertise and experiences to enable Yemeni women to participate in political and public life.

* Establish and finance a number of training, service and development projects and programs related to women and their activities.

* Raise the level of public, press and political freedoms on the national scene.

* Coordination and communication with national parties, and agreement with them to allocate leadership positions specifically to women.

* The allocation of pages and media and journalistic supplements specifically aimed at women and issues and areas related to them, in all official, partisan and independent newspapers and media institutions.

* Coordination and communication with all civil and national organizations and institutions, to strengthen the role of women and enable them to participate in decision-making.

* Provide technical, administrative, financial, development and moral support to all organizations and institutions active in the field of defense of women’s rights, democracy and human rights.

* Providing the cultural, political, academic, scientific, intellectual, civil and feminist arena with dozens of specialized and diverse books, research and studies in all areas of life.

* Qualify and train a large number of journalists and media professionals, and develop their professional and technical capabilities and qualifications.

* Qualify and train dozens of male and female activists in civil society institutions and projects.

* Organize and hold dozens of events, conferences, seminars and activities related to the field of journalism, media, women’s issues, human rights, questions of democracy, freedom of opinion and expression and civil and cultural society organizations on the different national scenes.

There are many fruitful achievements, efforts and contributions contained in the journalistic experience of the late doctor and great human being, Raoufah Hassan, may God have mercy on him, which cannot be limited or examined through these humble lines.

But it will certainly remain available to future generations to present themselves before him with precision and responsibility, as a supreme reference for women who do not recognize the limits of success.

May God have mercy on her and make her stay in Paradise… Al-Fatihah.

Yemen