Overcoming War and Disability Yemen's Women Basketball Players Hit the Court, In Pics

A disabled Yemeni woman prepares to shoot the ball during a local wheelchair basketball championship in Yemen's capital Sanaa on December 8, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Disabled Yemeni women take part in a local wheelchair basketball championship in Yemen's capital Sanaa on December 8, 2020. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

The Arab world's poorest country is devastated by conflict, the novel coronavirus and a humanitarian crisis that the United Nations has called the world's worst. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

In conflict-ridden Yemen, nine teams, including five-all women groups, competed in a local championship for the disabled in the capital Sanaa, which has been under rebel control since 2014. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Five all-women teams were part of the competition, only the second of its kind, including Al-Erada -- Arabic for

The players are competing to be embraced by society for their strengths rather than be viewed as a burden during the time of war. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Tens of thousands have been killed in Yemen since 2015, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to support the government after Huthi rebels took control of Sanaa the year before. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

A UN-brokered agreement reached two years ago between the government and the Iran-backed Huthis offered some hope, but a peaceful settlement has yet to materialise. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Hizam, assistant director of Yemen's sports federation for people with disabilities, said initiatives such as the tournament were practically non-existent. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

There are estimated to be around four million people with disabilities in Yemen, according to World Health Organization data. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Yemen's conflict has displaced some 3.3 million people, and around 80 percent of the population needs humanitarian aid and protection, according to the UN. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)

Teenage girls in the bleechers squirmed with excitement, throwing their arms into the air to cheer on the players. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP)