Houthi Militia Imposes Sectarian Slogans and Materials by Force in Taiz Schools, Abducts Resisting Teachers

The Houthi militia has launched a coercive campaign across several districts in Taiz Governorate, forcibly imposing its sectarian slogans and the ideological pamphlets of its founder, Hussein al-Houthi, into school curricula. Simultaneously, the group has carried out abduction campaigns targeting teachers, school principals, and Quran instructors who refused to comply with these directives.  

The campaign has affected the districts of Sharab, Damt Khadir, and Mawiyah, where school administrations were compelled to force students and teachers to chant the Houthi "Scream" slogan daily during morning assemblies. The militia requires video evidence of this practice to be submitted to its controlled education offices, alongside daily compliance reports.  

Additionally, the militia has mandated the compulsory teaching of sectarian pamphlets, threatening punitive measures against resisting administrators and educators. A school principal in Sharab reported that many schools received these materials and began teaching them under duress, while others faced arrest for refusal.  

A document issued by the Houthi-controlled Taiz Education Office reveals explicit orders enforcing the daily chanting of the sectarian slogan—with video documentation—and warns of penalties for non-compliant schools.  

Educational sources confirmed that months earlier, the militia forced dozens of principals and teachers to travel to Sana’a for 20-day indoctrination sessions focused on Hussein al-Houthi’s ideology and concepts of "al-Wilayah" (guardianship), unrelated to actual pedagogy. Absence from these sessions is deemed "hostile" by the militia, risking dismissal or imprisonment. The Houthi "Preventive Security" apparatus oversees these measures and leads arrest campaigns.  

In Damt Khadir, Mawiyah, and Sharab, multiple teachers, principals, and Quran instructors have been abducted and taken to unknown locations. Sources caution that disclosing their identities could worsen their conditions in detention, despite ongoing community mediation efforts to secure their release.  

These violations are part of a broader Houthi security escalation in areas under their control, where over 70 individuals—mostly educators and mosque preachers—were abducted within two weeks.