Lahij or Lahej (Arabic: لحج, romanized: Laḥj), formerly called Al-Hawtah,[1] is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen.

It is located in the delta of the Wadi Tuban on the main trade route connecting Aden with Ta'izz, Ibb, and Sanaa.

[citation needed] Their new settlement was named Al-Majhafa which translates to "the unfair" in Arabic due to settlers upset with the lack of provisions the area offered them.

During this time, Hadrami religious Sayids made their way into the area and as custom, one of them name Balfijar asked to established a howtah (الحوطة).

[citation needed] A howtah in Hadrami culture is where a few religious imams ask surrounding tribes to allow them to create a settlement that is guarded by a boundary of trees in which no tribesmen can enter with their weapons.

[citation needed] The Lahj region experienced instability after Yemeni government forces withdrew from the area in 2012, and Tribal Popular Committee funding was cut.

[2]: 9  The reduced state presence emboldened al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to launch a series of attacks in the governorate in June 2013.

[2]: 8  Less than a week later, on 26 March, Houthi forces captured al-Hawtah and the nearby Al Anad Air Base en route to Aden.

[2]: 8–9  They held the city until August, when Southern Transitional Council-led airstrikes bombarded Houthi positions and cleared the way for hundreds of government troops to move north toward Al Anad Air Base.

[2]: 8–9 Al-Qaeda struck again in early 2016, capturing the city on 25 January and holding it until government forces retook it on 15 April after a major battle.

[2]: 53–4 A significant impediment for the healthcare sector in al-Hawtah is lack of funds, partly caused by the weak exchange rate of the Yemeni riyal to the US dollar.

[2]: 54  The Yemeni civil war has also caused significant damage to health infrastructure, particularly due to frequent power outages, and an influx of internally displaced people has also exacerbated ongoing medical shortages.

[2]: 55 In 2015, al-Hawtah's maternity and child health center suffered major damage, which severely impeded access to healthcare for women and children.

[2]: 58  In January 2020, al-Hawtah's teachers went on strike in an attempt to get increased wages and monetary reimbursement for time spent working without pay.

[7][2]: 58  Since the outbreak of the civil war, there has been an increase in student enrollment because many internally displaced children came to al-Hawtah, putting further stress on the city's educators.

[2]: 63  All its holdings - including livestock, rare bird species, lab equipment, and tools - were stolen and it was left without hands-on teaching materials, leaving it only able to offer theoretical instruction.