Can the philosophy of segregation survive our fast changing times?

Sanaa, Yemen’s beautiful capital city, is realizing the alarming introduction and popularity of mixed-gender coffee shops and smoke (sheesha) parlors. Women and men share the same space and enjoy the services offered by these establishments. In some cases, entertainment is provided in the form of live music, and accounts were sited of women and men dancing in the presence of each other.

While the phenomenon may sound shocking to many given the relatively traditional social and value systems observed in Yemen, a few know that it has existed in the shadows of the big city for quite some time. A subculture in the form of gatherings and late night soirées that involve anything from simple celebrations to full out club-like events with live DJs, alcohol, dancing, drugs, and sex is not a new introduction to the city of Sanaa.

As expected, government intervention was not far behind. Owners of the above mentioned businesses were “reminded” of the social norms by frequent visits from Security elements and other arms of the government. Their very legitimate businesses often dealt with the constant threat of having to close doors in the middle of a busy evening, despite the absence of any law that prohibits such establishments from hosting customers of both sexes.

Surprisingly, more businesses of the kind began to surface. After all, where demand exists, supply will follow. Sanaa’s youth and new age metrosexuals are seeking to connect. They are getting curious. Will the government be able to set back the clock and revert Yemen’s youth to traditions? Or will today’s youth shape the culture of tomorrow?

If Sigmund Freud was alive, he would say that the culture and social norms in Yemen subconsciously revolve around Sex. The taboo that engulfs the subject helps fuel its prominence in the minds of every person living in Yemen. Mutual tension between the sexes brews deep as the apparent lack of knowledge drives the country to lock itself in a strict policy of segregation. The social divide grows wider while society surrenders its progress for fear of the unknown.

In Yemen, girls/women talk about boys/men, and vice-versa. The problem is that boys and girls do not talk to each other, so no one is cross-referencing their information. We find ourselves trapped in perpetual stereotyping, and framing each other in pre-defined square boxes that fit the image we create about the opposite sex.The very first form of instilling social norms, positive or negative, in Yemen’s youth is the school system. Why do we feel the need to enforce segregation in our schools? Are we afraid that we did not raise our children with the value systems and moral concepts they require to make basic decisions regarding what is right and what is wrong? Yet, as a predominantly Muslim country, we are the first to use (or abuse?) our religious affiliation to put ourselves on a pedestal of moral superiority in contrast to other nations.Perhaps the reason society enforces segregation is to combat what is deemed as the natural tendency of opposite sexes to want to connect, interact, and explore each other intellectually, spiritually, and physically. Then again, if the tendency is “natural”, then who is responsible for making us feel “unnatural” about it? Is it Government? Religion? Guardians? Parents today are less traditionally inclined than their parents, and their parents less than their grand parents.

In a free-market economy, buyers and sellers are allowed to interact freely and determine their own best interests. Equilibrium between supply and demand is achieved in homogeneity. If segregation was a choice, not a rule, there are those who believe that society will eventually realize a similar effect.

If the cloak of mystery cast by segregation is revealed, then perhaps both sexes in Yemen will eventually come to stand in front of each other, naked of presumptions, and realize that both are equally creatures of flesh, thoughts, feelings, and mutual misunderstandings.

Only then can we, as a society, begin to truly grasp the reins of progress and ride our civic chariots into the future.