Yemen's new weapon in war on terrorism women police

SANAA, May 23 (Reuters) Assault rifles in hand and Islamic headscarves tucked into their fatigues, women are Yemen's latest weapon in the fight against militant groups, recruits to a counter-terrorism force on the front lines.

In a country where women swathe themselves in black veils and keep a respectable distance from the opposite sex, the recruits have had to fight social stigma as well as crime.

''In the beginning, anywhere, it is difficult when women join the police force. When we first joined it was very difficult for us, for women, to enter this profession but bit by bit society will accept it,'' said Fatema, a counter-terrorism agent.

Of the 20 women hired in mid-2006 to the 300-strong force, seven have quit, finding the strains and training too tough.

Those who remain do not live at the sprawling Central Security Forces barracks in Sanaa, like male colleagues, but with their families. They come in each morning and are on call for special operations.

Yemen joined the US-led war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Washington is giving the poor Arab country, the ancestral homeland of Osama bin Laden, assistance including training and equipment to boost its forces.

Colonel Yahya Saleh, commander of the force, said he started recruiting women to help catch fugitives who disguise themselves as ladies, which in Yemen means wearing long robes and masks. The women have been such a hit that Saleh wants to hire more.

''We found that some terrorists dress in women's clothing, hide in predominantly female areas and use women to protect themselves.

Considering Arab and Yemeni traditions, some of our agents cannot inspect women,'' he said.

''This is how the idea came up ... It has been very successful.

Several terrorists have been caught dressed as women.'' FILLED A VOID It would be considered inappropriate in Yemen, for male officers to enter a family home and ask a woman to uncover her face, let alone frisk her. Islam requires women to dress modestly and cover their hair.

Yemenis have long headed off to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq and the country has seen its own share of attacks.

Islamist militants attacked the USS Cole in Yemen's waters in 2000, killing 17 sailors. More than 100 Yemenis remain in the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.

The women are trained in intelligence gathering, first aid, driving armoured cars and using firearms, Saleh said.

Their male colleagues have been trained to treat the female recruits as professionals to avoid unease, in a society where women are traditionally expected to behave modestly and men are expected to protect and provide for them.

''We have filled a void ... There is a need for women in the counter-terrorism unit because it is difficult for men to search some houses and inspect all the members of a family'', said Iqbal, another recruit.

''There is some resistance ... but it's fine. Everything is hard at the start. We used to be nurses, students, teachers.'' REUTERS SG ND1616