Vendetta in Yemeni Society: Causes and Solutions

Abstract

Yemeni society will continue to suffer from the compounding woes and troubles caused by this ancient problem. The society will remain threatened with division for a long period of time, and tribal fanaticism will play an escalating role that necessarily affects the cohesion and development of society's structure, which in turn will play a negative role in existing relationships between individuals and groups alike.

In present times, vendetta is no longer a casual phenomenon that can be easily confronted and put to rest unless the phenomenon is thoroughly studied, revealing its causes and the factors driving its occurrence and persistence.

If we examine the general characteristics of tribal social and political life in Yemen in isolation from the customary legal rules and systems that govern and organize it, we find a life dominated by fragmentation, disunity, disputes, and conflicts. This is particularly because the tribal social and political units constituting the largest Yemeni tribes—such as Hashid and Bakil—are considered segmentary units lacking any effective, dominant, central presidential authority, whether that authority is local tribal or central government.

Accordingly, it is difficult to claim that the central state authority has any effective impact capable of imposing a degree of unity, cohesion, and discipline within tribal society. Consequently, tribal units found in the prevailing customary rules and traditional tribal bodies—which adjudicate and resolve disputes arising between individuals and branches within a single tribe, or among multiple diverse tribes—the strong deterrent power working to achieve balance by preserving the principles of justice and equality in determining penalties and retribution, along with the corresponding equality in rights and duties.