Yemeni model and actress Entisar al-Hammadi was kidnapped by Houthi rebels near the capital Sana’a, activists said in social media posts on Sunday.
“The Houthi rebel group continues to terrorize Yemeni women,” an activism page called Yemeni Feminist Voice said in a tweet. “Entisar al-Hammadi is an actress and model who was kidnapped and held by the terrorist Houthi rebels because of her job, which is considered a crime for the extremist and misogynist group.”
According to the tweet and other social media posts, the model’s whereabouts remain unknown. Social media users have been trying to raise awareness using two Arabic hashtags that translate to #Freedom_for_Entisar_alHammadi and #Where_Is_Entisar_alHammadi.
A screengrab shared in a tweet said al-Hammadi started out as a makeup model and then became the “first professional Yemeni makeup artist to emerge in the war-torn country.” She then became a fashion model which led her to acting. According to the post, al-Hammadi appeared in two Ramadan series in Yemen in 2020.
According to one media report, activists have said the rebels created a “secret prison” for women near the Sana’a airport. There is another prison reportedly in the Haziz area, near the south of the capital. There are another two prisons in the northern area.
There was no confirmation or statements made by any official sources as of Sunday evening.
