Bushra loves seeing her patients thrive. “The work is risky and dangerous, but the appreciation in people’s eyes encourages me.” Photo: Mahmoud Fadel/IRC

“Other doctors told me that ‘Bushra, you are freshly graduated, you can’t cope with all this’,” she says, explaining her decision to move away from her family home to a rural area in Yemen, where basic necessities are scant. “But all this talk was just encouragement. It motivated me to challenge myself, because I have a goal to help the women in these areas.”

Bushra has been a reproductive health officer with the International Rescue Committee since 2019. She manages EU-funded mobile medical units that drive out into the mountains visiting camps, settlements and villages. Her team of healthcare workers provide pregnant women and babies vital support in areas where they wouldn’t otherwise have access to healthcare.

With funds from the EU, the IRC runs mobile medical units, allowing Bushra to provide women in remote locations with reproductive health care. Photo: Mahmoud Fadel/IRC.

“Our traditions and customs have prevented women from going to male doctors,” she says, explaining the barriers women in rural communities face. “So even when they’re in need, they don’t go, and just suffer at home. Women tend to be depressed because of the unstable situation and fear what’s coming next.”

“Women are the most ignored group in our community,” Bushra says. “They need more care and access to services.” Photo: Mahmoud Fadel/IRC

Having entered its seventh year of conflict, Yemen faces a multitude of humanitarian disasters. Price hikes, a shortage of fuel and food, lack of adequate healthcare services and continued fighting have devastated its population, with the risk of widespread famine currently at its peak.

The outbreak of COVID-19 in Yemen only served to amplify these feelings of uncertainty. At the peak of the outbreak in 2020, hospitals had begun to deny patients in hopes of reducing the spread of the virus. “Many women were wondering where to deliver their babies and how to protect themselves,” explains Bushra. Using WhatsApp, Bushra created a group together with her fellow midwives and doctors, to keep in contact with her patients and arrange consultations.

Owing to weak infrastructure and unpaved roads, Bushra often spends hours travelling between the different health facilities. Photo: Mahmoud Fadel/IRC

After she graduated from medical school, she decided to move to a rural village in Al-Dhale’e, located in southwestern Yemen. “It was a transformative point in my life,” she says. “My family refused at first. But I knew that the women there needed help. They suffer, and no one knows about them. They live away from hospitals and need someone to help them, so I moved closer to them. That experience created a new Bushra.”

Having grown up in a society where women face harsher obstacles than men, Bushra’s perseverance stands out. “Being a woman is not just to be strong and stand up for myself, but to stand up for everybody else who needs me,” she says. Despite the challenging context in which she works, Bushra’s resolve to help the people around her remains strong. “I consider each day as a new chance for life.”

Having boldly defied the very societal norms designed to hold her back, she shares some wise words for girls hoping to embark on a similar journey. “My advice for young girls is to have strong faith in themselves,” she says. “Women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.”

“I support my colleagues with a positive smile each morning, and with my homemade cappuccino,” she says.