Inspirational female engineer breathes new life into Yemen’s ancient capital
“There is a common language between me and the buildings,” said Yemeni engineer Harbia. In every house I try to preserve. I feel like the city is grateful to me and I’m grateful to the city because it has taught me a lot of things.” Al-Himiary, describes her relationship with the Yemeni capital.
Ms. Al-Himiary has strived since childhood to achieve her dream of preserving Sana’a’s heritage and ensuring “the continuation of our history, one of the greatest civilizations.”
As a project officer in the Cultural Heritage Unit of the Historic Cities Authority in Old Sana’a, she is currently working on a United Nations-supported project to restore dozens of buildings. Historic homes in Sana’a and throughout Yemen.
Harbiya al-Hamiry, a Yemeni heritage engineer who embarked on a mission to revive Yemen’s historic buildings.
‘There is no difference between male and female engineers’
“There is no difference between men and women when it comes to preserving this historic city,” she emphasized, emphasizing respect between all team members as well as residents of the area where they live. work. It is true that we face challenges and difficulties, but by working as a team, we will overcome it. Currently, the project has a number of female engineers, proving they are competitive every day in the field, all contributing to the preservation of this gem.”
In every project she undertakes, Ms. Al-Himiary strives to find opportunities for women and girls. “For example, when I lived in the old town of Zabid, we trained a number of girls in traditional building crafts, such as woodwork, wooden decorations, stucco decorations and carpentry. The more training opportunities we open up, the more we see equal participation rates between men and women. In some professions, there are more girls than boys.”
Harbiya al-Hamiry, a Yemeni heritage engineer walks around Old Sana’a.
When she asked one of the girls why she was learning traditional carpentry, she told Ms. Al-Humairi that, by restoring the wooden decorations in her house, she had just exercised her rights. as one of the owners of the house, while protecting his rights. her and her family’s privacy.
“My advice to any girl is to choose a field you like, because if you love that field, you will definitely succeed,” the engineer confided. the ambition you desire.”
Heritage conservation engineer Harbia Al Himiary (center)
