Hadramout, Yemen – ““I will take it upon myself to let no woman or girl suffer from violence, I will hold their hand until they are able to start a new life just like I did,” tells Najat, 45 years, from Hadramout.

Najat was taken out of school at 15 years and married off to an older man. She became a mother to three children while enduring immense physical and verbal abuse for the next 25 years.

“When I turned 40 years, the violence towards me had not stopped, but I decided to get rid of it,” tells Najat.

Najat separated from her husband, taking her three children. She did not have any money or a place to live but was determined to find a way.

“The suffering I endured alone was huge, but more bearable than the violence and injustice I endured for over two decades,” stated Najat.

Najat reached out to a women and girls safe space supported by UNFPA with the financial support of KSrelief.  The safe space helped Najat to obtain a legal divorce, psychosocial support and learn new skills.

At the safe space Najat learned to make perfumes, incense and scents. Upon the completion of the course she was rewarded with an economic grant.

Najat was determined to start her own business with the grant, working day and night, until she opened her first store in the city.

“I was finally standing on my own two feet, and able to provide my children with a decent life, but it felt like just the beginning, there was more to do with my life,” added Najat.

Najat decided go back to study at the same school she was forcibly taken away from at 15 years. She was a fast learner, learning to speak fluently in Arabic and taking on management courses.

Soon, she assigned her eldest son to take care of the shop, while she took on the role of an executive director at the Hadhramout Center for Training and Rehabilitation, affiliated with the Hadhramout Cancer Foundation.

“When I took on this position, it was the moment I decided to transform from just a survivor of violence to a woman with a mission to help women and girls who have suffered like me,” tells a proud Najat.

The support of KSrelief has helped UNFPA to increase access to quality protection services for women like Najat in areas where protection needs are severe with support to 12 safe spaces across six governorates in southern Yemen.