Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
8-1-2025
Keywords
Martyrdom, Palestine, Rescue, Resistance, Women, Yemen
Abstract
This paper is a largely contradistinctive analysis of resistance methods utilized by the tribal communities of Yemen and the people of occupied Palestine. By examining their respective colonial pasts and the calculated methods in which people have resisted, valuable context is added to modern methods of defiance against continuous atrocities. The shared self-defense strategy of adaptation through the forms of peaceful mediation and public memorialization, is central to this analysis, as both methods illustrate the way in which culture and resistance have crystallized together over time. This is particularly visible in the case of Palestine regarding the metamorphosis of the concept of martyrdom. We also pay special attention to the unique function of women as rescuers and resistors, who use their social role to the benefit of their cause or circumvent cultural norms all together in the name of resistance, both of which are widely accepted by their communities. Indeed, each case is unique, however the way in which cultural practices and defiance in the face of extermination have adapted into mechanisms for self- defense, offers a valuable frame of reference when examining the intricacies of the ongoing violence in Yemen and Palestine today.
Recommended Citation
Guenther, Charles and Kuss, Virginia, "An Examination of Self-Defense Actions by Victim Groups in Yemen and Palestine" (2025). The Microdynamics of Mass Atrocity Working Paper Series. 5.
https://orb.binghamton.edu/microdynamicspapers/5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
