March 1 at the Bilqis Sport’s Club for Women in Sana’a, offering Yemeni women the chance to watch and try riding, tennis, badminton, volleyball, weightlifting, gymnastics, billiards and chess. The event’s success has caused in to be extended by a week to end on March 15. On International Women’s Day on March 8, the Women Sports’ Committee who organized the event honored the female employees of the Ministry of Sports and Youth and former sportswomen.Through the various activities of the festival, the Women Sports’ Committee, which has branches in 15 governorates in Yemen, aims to promote social peace.All through this week, visitors have trickled in and out of the festival’s tents laughing and chatting. Children’s faces are painted like butterflies or bears, and women gather around an aromatic promotional display of a stock-cube brand to receive free cookbooks and bowls of rice in between two sports events.The Bilqis sports’ club is only one of only two sports’ clubs for women in Sana’a, the other one is called the Women’s Union Sports Hall.“This hall gives an opportunity to the women to have a space to practice different kinds of sports like tennis, volleyball and judo,” said Salma Al-Masa’abi, Secretary General of the club, explaining that the festival aims to promote participation of women in sports and culture and recognize them as important members of society. Girls on first semester holiday from different schools and universities are participating in the festival: “I’m really happy to take part in this festival and it will certainly ensure that we start the second semester actively,” said one participant.As part of the festival, the sport’s club has organized volleyball, chess and weightlifting competitions during the week-long festival twice a day from in both the morning and afternoon. Participants are from girls’ schools from ten different districts in Sana’a.“These competitions were held in schools previously, but this is the first time that a festival like this provides a venue for them to be attended by so many people,” said Samira Al-Sabahi, director of the Women’s Management Office in Ibb.The rest of the time is dedicated to entertainment including songs, quizzes with prizes and a drawing tent. At the drawing tent female artists have portrayed women sewing, wearing large straw hats to protect them from the sun and wearing traditional silver jewelry.The festival is not only an opportunity for women to watch sports, but also to support women with psychological difficulties or illnesses in Yemen. Volunteers have set up a charity bazaar the profits of which will be donated to the hospitals and organizations that support these patients. On sale as part of the fundraising effort are traditional Yemeni handicrafts such as bags and loose embroidered garments decorated with silver.The festival is supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and many other supporters including Yemen Mobile, Future University, Yemen Consult House, and Brands for Less