Women are the best messengers for peace.

Raqiya Humeidan was the first woman in Yemen and the Arab Gulf region to become a lawyer. Born in 1947 in Aden, she graduated with a BA in Law from the University of London in 1971, and the following year obtained a Masters in Law, from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSEPS). She is currently a private barrister and is also a renowned legal consultant and advisor for the World Bank.

Raqiya Humeidan comes from a middle class family; her mother died when she was still a youngster. Married in 1973, she has one son and two daughters: an engineer, a law graduate and an accountant respectively. Raqiya has 31 years of professional experience in legal consultancy. She worked for seven years as a civil servant and for 24 years as a Supreme Court Attorney. She is a member of the Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Human Rights (ACMHR) in Yemen and has played a key role in monitoring human rights violations. Raqiya actively participated in the International Visitor Program of the United States Information Agency (USIA) on "The Rule of Law" in 1993. She was also involved in a program on the US Court System sponsored by the National Center for State Courts in August 1999. Raqiya has conducted many studies on various national and international legal issues and has revised drafts of legislation and governmental resolutions. As an intelligent barrister, she has concluded commercial contracts with international companies on behalf of corporations and has provided legal advice to national and international bodies and persons. She was deputized as an expert to talk about the Yemeni Law before the British High Court in London and at an international arbitration tribunal in Northern Ireland. Raqiya speaks two foreign languages and is a member of several local and regional unions and organizations, including the Yemen Advocates Union (YAU), the Arab Advocates Association, the Yemeni Center for Conciliation and Arbitration and the Arab Association for Supporting Women and Juvenile Issues (AASWJI).

Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Human Rights (ACMHR) Yemen Advocates Union (YAU) Arab Association for Supporting Women and Juvenile Issues (AASWJI)