الجمهورية اليمنية
Al-Jumhūrīyah al-Yamanīyah, The Republic of Yemen
In this country
men wear a jambiyya
(short, curved, double-edged blade, worn as a status symbol)
in their belt
women wear an abāʾah
(black cloak to hide their body from view)
and a niqāb
(black veil, only a slit for the eyes, to hide the head from view)
Everyone’s biggest fear
is a stain on their honor,
about that they write poetry...
والله ما نرضى المذلة ولا الهوان
نموت واقفين ولا نحني الجبين
Wallāh mā narḍā al-madhallah wa-lā al-hawānb
Namūt wāqifīn wa-lā nuḥni al-jabīn
By God, we will not accept humiliation or disgrace.
We die standing — we do not bow our foreheads.
Original photo by Rod Waddington who has nothing to do with the slight color modification that I used. (CC BY-SA 2.0)