Rasha Kafi
Writer and Human Rights and Women’s Rights Advocate
For more than five decades, the glorious September 26 Revolution was perceived merely as an annual occasion—a public holiday marked by a few patriotic songs on state television, a presidential speech, and a military parade in Sabeen Square. We did not fully grasp the greatness of this day in its true meaning until the Houthi militia staged their coup in 2014 and displayed openly hostile practices against everything related to the republic, its democratic values, and the achievements of the September Revolution. Only then did the true essence of September return to people’s consciousness: it was not simply a revolution against an old monarchy, but the foundation of a collective awareness that refuses to return to slavery or to a repugnant system of social stratification.
Today, as we live under Houthi rule, we understand September more deeply than ever before. The Houthis are reviving the darkest aspects of Yemen’s past: reinstating the rhetoric of hereditary privilege, legitimizing their authority through claims of divine right, confiscating women’s rights under the guise of religion and custom, and repressing society in the same manner the Imams once did.
The Houthi coup, with its various forms of repression against citizens and its relentless attempts to erase all that the September Revolution achieved in establishing republican values, has reignited the spirit of September in the hearts of Yemenis. It has made them cling to their immortal republic more strongly than ever. Every act of oppression they commit, every restriction they impose, reminds people why their forefathers rose up in 1962. This is the paradox: commemorating September today is no longer a ritual—it is a declaration of identity, an act of resistance against tyranny, and an affirmation that we are the children of the republic and that we will not allow the sacrifices of the martyrs who toppled the Imamate more than six decades ago to be stolen.
September today is not just a date in history. It is a living identity we hold on to daily, through which we declare our rejection of injustice and oppression. In the era of Houthi rule, September has become clearer and more meaningful than ever, simply because it reminds us of what we would have lost had that great revolution never occurred.
As a Yemeni woman, I do not see September only as a political event, but as a moment of personal and moral birth. Before the revolution, Yemeni women were deprived of their most basic rights—silenced, excluded from education, and barred from public life—as though they were invisible. The September Revolution shattered this barrier, opened the doors to education, work, and participation, and declared clearly that women are full citizens, not subordinates or marginal figures.
As a woman, I feel that the battle of September is not over. The Houthis insist on returning women to isolation and marginalization, as if everything achieved since 1962 were only a temporary exception. Yet I firmly believe that the spirit of September lives on, and that it will continue to inspire both men and women to resist this coup with the same determination our forefathers showed against the Imamate.
September accomplished much for all of us: it toppled the theocratic rule, raised the banner of the republic, redefined the relationship between ruler and people on the basis of citizenship rather than divine right, established schools and universities, and began building the institutions of a modern state—despite setbacks and wars. Most importantly, it created a new national consciousness that made Yemenis feel like free citizens, not subjects.
Today, September is not merely a commemoration, but an enduring act of resistance and a reaffirmed national identity. It reminds us that we are the children of the republic, that we will not permit the return of despotism, and that the sacrifices made by the free men and women of Yemen will remain the compass guiding us toward a future of justice and freedom.
