There are Literacy classes, a library and handicraft courses to help in the re-socialization of released female prisoners

The Social Care House in Aden has been helping rehabilitate young girls after prison since 2005. Officially known as the Relief Center for Female Ex-Prisoners and Victims of Violence, the shelter is considered to be the first refuge of its kind in the Middle East.

"Do you have any younger sisters?” she asked in a low voice. "Promise me you will look after them. Don't lose them as my older sisters did me."

This is how 16 year-old Salwa*, one of the nine girls currently living at the Social Care House, began her story.

"My father pushed me out onto the streets to beg, though we have many properties as well as a house. My father doesn't want to work, all he wants is easy money given to him from me and my other siblings,” she said.

Salwa was living in Sana’a while she was begging, but she was seized by security in Aden and charged with prostitution.

“I met some bad girls and ran away with them to Aden. Escaping from the house and life I was living, I didn't realize that I was running towards a worse fate. The girls led me down a terrible path that I don't want to talk about. I was told that I had to pay for staying in their apartment, and that I would have to work for it,” she recalled.

The police caught Salwa among others. After having served her sentence at Aden jail, she tried to return home but was rejected by her father.

“He simply said that if I came back, he would kill me. According to him, I didn’t have a birth certificate so I didn't exist, and no one could accuse him of anything.

“Since then I have lived here at the shelter, and received a lot of psychological, as well as social care,” she concluded.

According to Afra'a Hariri, head of the Social Care House, the wide range of medical, psychological and educational needs of female prisoners and their children are not met in prison, and most of these women leave prison without any skills or the capacity to survive in mainstream society. The Social Care House provides a home for the girls after being ostracized from society.

"Girls and young women who run away from domestic violence, abuse or child marriages can neither find an institution for help and advice, nor a job to earn their living legally," Hariri said.

The relief centre offers legal, psychological and medical support to the girls in the shelter. It provides legal aid and assistance in court dealings, literacy classes and handicraft courses. It also works to help in the re-socialization of released female prisoners by finding them a decent job to ensure them a better future, as well as helps raise awareness for victims of violence in the community.

"Most of the cases are stealing as well as prostitution and it is hard for anyone to stand up for these girls in such cases to try to help them. It is something to be ashamed of in our society," Arhab Khamis, lawyer of the shelter, said.

Khamis described the reasons why most girls are living in the house: "Many girls are simply ostracized from the community. It becomes hard for them to interact with other members of society after they have been in jail or faced violence in their family. They lose their confidence and some of them may actually begin to hurt others. The shelter looks after those girls and tries to rehabilitate them so that they can easily re-enter society and be able to earn a living.”

The Social Care House, which was established in 2005, has witnessed its share of tragedy, but there are also some happy stories. “One of the girls is married now and it was amazing looking at her father accepting her all over again when he came to approve the marriage,” said Khamis. 43 women and girls have been supported by the Social Care House from the time of its establishment. At the moment there are nine girls and one child living in the house. Three of those nine girls are going to school.

"I started working in the shelter as a volunteer and simply decided to help these girls. There surely should be closer cooperation between the government and the civil community on this issue but, despite several attempts to establish a bridge between the two sides, there still isn’t one. Such a goal won’t be achieved unless we cooperate more," Khamis finally added.

Amal*, now in her last month of pregnancy after her marriage, explained: "I reall

Ex-female inmates undergo rejection of their families and society

y felt like a human being and a lady. Getting married as a true woman with all my marriage expenses was really amazing and made me simply feel alive again. I'm glad I am treated as a normal woman and not as a stranger anymore after my father’s denial of me for almost seven years."

"In order to be reintegrated into their families and society, they have to have access to medical care and psychological support, upgrade their professional skills and get help in finding suitable jobs and this is what the shelter is trying to fully provide," Hariri said.

"Three girls are now in school studying. After taking part in the literacy classes at the shelter, they were able to join governorate schools. I feel glad these girls have become more aware of their rights. For example, one of the girls is starting to debate legal issues with me. She keeps arguing about human rights and what she is entitled to do or not. Some of the girls are actually trying to impose their rights on me in the house," she finally added.

The Relief Center for Female Ex-Prisoners and Victims of Violence or Social Care House is a part of the Arab Foundation for Supporting Women and Juveniles (AFSWJ). The center enjoys support from the Ministry of Human Rights, and will continue to receive core funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) until June 2009.

The first of its kind in the Middle East, the Social Care House approaches female prisoners at Al-Mansura Prison in Aden and other female prisoners from other governorates upon request. It aims to help released female prisoners, victims of violence and especially victims of child marriage, as well as and female refugees.

"The BMZ received a proposal for the project from the AFSWJ and the proposal was approved. The Social Care House is supported by the GTZ on behalf of the BMZ,” said Heba Ahmed, an intern for the GTZ Equal Chances for Women program.

She went on to say that Germany and Yemen are striving to implement gender equality and especially give equal chances to women, one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), and are supporting the Social Care House as part of this effort.

Ahmed described the project as a pilot project in Yemen and in the Arab world. Despite fear of the project being rejected by Yemeni society, the Social Care House has received great support, with many people volunteering to help.

"The funding will come to an end next year in June. We hope that the project finds other supporting donors and gets more support from Yemeni institutions and persons," she finally added.

Noura Al-Qa'tabi, head of the Court of Appeal in Aden, said, "Such a shelter house in Yemen is really something beneficial, helpful and educational for girls and young women who run away from domestic violence and child marriages as well as female ex-prisoners. Their rehabilitation is obviously helping society and the government is planning to build a bridge with the shelter as soon as possible."

"There is no specific cooperation between us and the shelter now because most females facing problems are not from the Aden governorate. Most of them actually come from the northern governorates.

Those who are released from prison in Aden don't face such serious problems as others because their families accept them without any trouble,” Al-Q'atabi said.

Names have been changed to protect the identity of the girls interviewed.