Editing Women's suffrage (section)

==== Yemen ====

Historically Yemen was divided in two nations prior to its unification in 1990, both of whom already had women's suffrage prior to the unification. The history of women's suffrage is therefore split.

Women's suffrage was granted in [[South Yemen]] in 1967.<ref>Manea, E. (2012). The Arab State and Women's Rights: The Trap of Authoritarian Governance. Storbritannien: Taylor & Francis. p. 3</ref> 
The reform was a part of a number of reforms introduced in women's rights under Socialist rule. When the [[People's Democratic Republic of Yemen]] was founded as an independent nation under the Socialist NLF Party in 1967, the [[General Union of Yemeni Women]] was founded as a part of the regime's policy. The purpose of the GUYW was to enforce the official women's policy of the People's Democratic Republic regime, which was a radical and ambitions [[state feminism]].<ref>Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations from Within. (2012). Egypten: American University in Cairo Press. pp. 17, 215-218</ref>

Women's suffrage was granted in North Yemen in 1970. The Northern [[Yemen Arab Republic]] was a deeply conservative state with sharia law and no strong women's movement, were no reforms in women's rights were not prioritised during the Yemen civil war of 1962–1970. 
However, the Second Permanent Constitution of 1970 stated that "all citizens are equal before the law"; and while this phrase did not explicitly include women, women voters used this phrase to vote in the next election, which was held in 1983.<ref>Manea, E. (2012). The Arab State and Women's Rights: The Trap of Authoritarian Governance. Storbritannien: Taylor & Francis. p. 4</ref>