Dear Doha Diary

The war in Yemen has raged now for 6 weeks and is only intensifying in ferocity, but given the lack of time given to the story by the English speaking media (with the exception of Al Jazeera), the narrative has slipped into describing the division along sectarian lines - Shia (Iran/Ex-President Saleh/Houthis), vs Sunni (Saudi Arabic/President Hadi & rest of Yemen) - with the main story focusing on Saudi Arabia and Iran - the proxy war which could explode into a regional conflict, perhaps drawing Russia and USA in on opposing sides. It is of course a lot more complicated than that and many of the guys fighting on the ground aren't the least bit interested in the bigger picture.  And when the press keep repeating that those fighting in Aden are forces allied to President Hadi, this also isn't wholly true.   Most of the guys who are opposing the Houthis are not soldiers.  80% of the Yemeni army is apparently not involved.  Yemen's armed forces were allied to t...

Now Yemenis are used to instability, unrest, continuous crises and generally life being a struggle.  But recent events in that crazy beautiful country signal an escalation in the battle for power with many fearing the onset of a fully blown civil war. Its clear that the situation in Yemen is incredibly complex, not least because of the number of different conflicting interests at play at so many levels…. Regionally, you have the influence of both Saudi Arabia and Iran with sectarian differences, Saudi Arabia concerned that Iran are expanding their Shia brand of Islam across the Middle East into Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and now Yemen with the Shia Houthis in control of much of the country now. Nationally you have an existing President Hadi (on the left) who has seemingly failed to inspire hope in the Yemeni people vs a former President Saleh (on the right) ousted from power in 2012 following a popular uprising inspired by the A...

So here's an interesting question….. A few days ago, when having dinner with a European colleague, I was describing my affinity with my arab friends and at times feeling more arab than English…. he then said "oh so that means you'll start wearing the hijab?".  Now I hadn't said I felt more Muslim than Christian…. but I was perplexed by his question.  It unsettled me a little and caused me to reflect deeply on this point….. and by the way, at the time, I was wearing the male head-covering - the keffiyeh/ghutra…. as is my habit when in the souq. So why do I wear the keffiyeh?… I dress like an arab man, not an arab woman, although I do own an abaya and hijab and have been known to wear it occasionally and certainly while I was in Yemen….as seen in this photo (it was a must).  I don't have an objection to wearing it and actually found it very comforting, although I did so out of choice of course. However, my preference is to wear the male hea...