Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

Yemeni student expelled from school for refusing to chant Houthi slogan

Yemeni student expelled from school for refusing to chant Houthi slogan

A high school in Houthi-held Sanaa has expelled a student for refusing to recite the militia’s slogan, the student’s father said, a decision that has sparked outrage in Yemen and prompted an overwhelming show of support for the family.
Farouq Jaber claimed that the principal of an unnamed high school in Sanaa expelled his daughter Taghred for refusing to chant the Houthi slogan before morning lines, even though she was an excellent student.

The Houthis have recently issued a circular ordering that their slogan “Death to America! Death to Israel! A curse upon the Jews! Victory for Islam!” be chanted in primary and secondary schools during early morning activities, claiming the move was intended to challenge the US and Israel while also instilling religious values in students.

Jaber said that his daughter had previously refused to chant other sectarian slogans during religious occasions and declined his request not to challenge the principle.

“She said, ‘I am not convinced, and I will not (recite the slogan), even if they prevent me from studying,’” the father said on Facebook, adding that his daughter stood firm despite her teacher’s efforts to persuade her otherwise.

Yemenis slammed the Houthis for attempting to impose their ideologies on students and expressed support for the girl in response to the father’s post, which received hundreds of likes and was widely shared on social media.

Outspoken writer and former Yemeni Culture Minister Khaled Al-Ruwaishan urged the Houthis to reverse their decision to ask students and worshipers at schools and mosques to chant their slogan, stating that many people in Sanaa boycotted mosques on Fridays to avoid reciting the slogans.

“This is a foolish and disastrous decision! Expulsion of a student is equivalent to giving an innocent student the death penalty,” Al-Ruwaishan said.

“You must back off and refrain from starting a fire in a country where there are already a lot of fires.”

Some Yemenis even suggested starting a fundraising campaign to cover the dismissed student’s tuition at a private school so that she could return to class.

“A heroic attitude from a child full of pride. This girl represents us all,” Ahmed Al-Ashwal, a Yemeni Air Force pilot, wrote on Facebook.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Syria Holds First Elections Since Fall of Assad
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
×