And in July, government authorities arrested several political activists for organizing a march without official approval. Islam is the state religion. The tiny Jewish population in the north faces discrimination in employment opportunities. There are several churches and Hindu temples in the south, but no non-Muslim places of worship in the north. Church services are regularly held without harassment in private homes or public facilities such as schools for the predominantly foreign Christian community.
Women face legal discrimination in marriage and divorce matters.
An estimated 80 percent of Yemeni women are illiterate, compared with 35 percent of men. Women enjoy the right to vote though only 20 percent of those eligible are registered. In November, the Yemeni Socialist Party, a traditional advocate of women's issues, held its first congress in thirteen years. The presence of 132 women among the 1,357 delegates was considered an encouraging sign. The 1996 labor law permits only one union per enterprise and only one trade union confederation.