Hope in the Presence of Continuous Hardships: Investigation of the Challenges Hampering the Chances of Economic Empowerment among Yemeni Women

Women's economic empowerment is an important issue for development in order to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth, and it is also one of the most effective ways to advance the role of women in society. It is therefore a lifeline for bringing Yemeni women into economic life, but the economic opportunities available to Yemeni women are very limited. That is because there are many challenges facing their economic empowerment. Therefore, this study aims to identify the views of Yemeni women regarding the most important challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of economic empowerment of women in Yemen by adopting the analytical descriptive methodology with the help of primary data collected by a developed questionnaire tool, and secondary data which was obtained from official reports, previous studies and other resources relevant to the study topic. The findings indicate that women's financial illiteracy and negative customs and traditions in the society are the most critical challenges to the economic empowerment of Yemeni women, with percentages of 56% and 52% respectively, with other factors receiving various percentages. Meanwhile, 2% of the total sample size (421 women) brought to light other challenges to women's economic empowerment in Yemen, the most important of which was the insufficient proliferation of Islamic financial institutions. Based on the results and findings, the study recommends more attention be paid to making education compulsory in the society, and the gradual correction of negative customs and traditions in Yemeni society through spreading knowledge and awareness, which could improve the chances of economic empowerment of women.