Yemeniettes (2014)

• 80%
• 2014
• Documentary
• Drama

It's homework time, but the lights are out yet again in Yemen's capital of Sana'a. Three girls, determined to get an education, decide enough is enough. Armed with an entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of creativity, they find a solution to their study woes and address their country's weak economy and fledgling infrastructure in the process. Their idea? Solar powered lanterns. Set against the backdrop of a nation whose reputation includes being one of the worst places to be a woman, the poorest country in the Arab world, and a failed state, the film explores many of the drivers of Yemen's challenges: youth unemployment, drug abuse, and a struggling education system. Even worse, conflict between Al-Qaeda and Yemen's Houthi population threatens the girls' very lives. In Yemeniettes, teenage girls launch a business - taking on titles like CEO and Vice President - and defy the barriers of their traditional society, proving that age and gender constraints are no match for those seeking to make the world around them a better place.