Abdalaziz Alhamza “RBSS”
Between the hell of the motherland and the cruelty of exile
When the Syrian revolution had started, women were an important part of a popular demonstration against oppressive Assad regime. In the last few years, women have participated in all revolutionary events, peaceful activities, fieldwork, political and media roles. As a result of all of that, women became subject to systematic violence by Assad regime, lots of women had been detained, raped and killed by Assad security forces.
As a part of the Syrian community, the Syrian woman is living a real painful situation, the Syrian women became (Women without rights) because they are not getting their simplest rights during war times. “Everything is dark” Jihan says describing the Syrian women situation with all the pain of the world in her eyes.
When extremist groups, religious or nonreligious as ISIS, Al Nusra and YPG, became part of the Syrian reality women became subjects of another kind of violations. ISIS and Al Nusra had imposed rules that violate women lifestyle and YPG is recruiting women constantly. Syrian women, wherever they are inside Syria, are being subjects of all kinds of violations, even in refugee camps by war traders.
In Raqqa and Deir ez Zor, women are suffering from ISIS rules, women are not allowed to leave their houses alone and they are not allowed to work or get any education. “They want us to marry whoever they want” Kholud from Raqqa says about ISIS, “Under ISIS control our life is a piece of hell, we are not allowed to go out, to speak, to shop or anything, we are detainees in a big prison” a woman from Deir ez Zor says.
In Hasaka, under SDF control, lots of underage girls have been kidnapped and forced to recruit. Recently, the regime has established a new militia and called it (The Syrian Khansaa), they irony is that ISIS also has the same name for a women militia.
However, and despite escaping Syria, for those who managed to, the Syrian women situation is not that better, several human rights reports have talked about lots of harassments to Syrian women. Human Rights Watch addressed in its reporters the issue of sexual harassments of Syrian women in both Lebanon and Egypt. Media reports have revealed the exitance of prostitution networks in Lebanon exploiting the suffering of Syrian people Lebanon. Not only in the neighbor countries, even in Europe, a lot of harassments have been reported in refugee camps. Based on all of that, it is clear now that the Syrian women now are (women without rights).
