Caught Between Choice and Compulsion, What is Behind the Reality of Syrian Women?

In the context of local Syrian communities, when discussing social norms that relate to women's issues, it must be first made clear that there is considerable diversity and fluidity in social norms among different Syrian communities that make up the fabric of the Syrian society as a whole. However, in the specific context of this article, it can be said that in general, a typical Syrian woman is not socially expected to lead the household, nor to act as the breadwinner of the family. This is the case in most Syrian communities that are based in rural areas, as well as in many conservative Syrian households, regardless of the urban-rural divide. In that sense, responsibilities are normally shared between the woman and the man, whereby the man is to bear the financial burdens, and the woman is to handle the household chores and child-rearing.

However, similarly to the plenty of changes that the Syrian society has experienced due to war-related conditions, inlcuding killings, arbitrary arrests, and forcible displacement, as well as the influence of social media in terms of awareness, it is easily noticable that the situation of Syrian women has radically changed over the past ten years. Hundreds of thousands of Syrian women have found themselves bearing a new role and a new title, burdened with responsibilities that they had never carried out before.

Studies confirm that in recent years, more and more Syrian women have assumed greater responsibilities in their households. In fact, the percentage of female-headed households in Syria rose from 4.4% in 2009 to 22.4% in 2021, which translates to more than 4.5 million people in Syria who are provided for by a woman, according to the latest statistics of the United Nations Population Fund.

Nonetheless, it is crucial to stress that a woman's work or responsibility for providing for her family is not an issue in itself. Rather, the issue is that women should always have the right to choose the path they take, irrespective of whether that choice is to become a working woman, a stay-at-home woman, or something in between. Indeed, working Syrian women made and continue to make immeasurable sacrifices that deserve all appreciation, praise, and support. This is especially true in consideration of the fact that hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Syrian women live in difficult conditions in makeshift, internally displaced people "IDP" camps in northern Syria, as well as in makeshift refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. For reasons that vary from one case to the other, many of these women were unable to obtain a college degree nor even a secondary school diploma. In reality, the case is that often, women who unpreparedly found themselves in a position of heading the househld and handling its financial burden, did not have the opportunity to obtain vocational training, and continue to have no support system or a safe place to leave their children in during working hours. On the #InternationalWomensDay, we would like to shed the light on some stories we encountered within our work, that prove what everyone already knows - Syrian women deserve all the appreciation and support there is, and most importantly, they deserve much better realities than the ones they are forced to survive.

Najlaa is a young Syrian woman who was not given many options. When her father was killed, she fled, along with her mother and sisters, from their home and ended up in a tent that offers no protection from harsh weather conditions during winter and summer. At the time, Najlaa was a 15-year-old girl who just wants to go to school and see her friends, when her mother felt that the only way out for the girl, is to to marry her off. Eventually, Najlaa became a mother of two before she turned 18 years old. Unfortunately, Najlaa's story is not an exceptional one.

On the other hand, Khadija is a Syrian refugee woman whose husband was forbily disappeared. When narrating her story, the bereaved woman said, "I left my house with nothing but my children and the clothes on my back. I don't know where my husband is." Khadija lives in the Arsal refugee camps, and did not get an opportunity to complete her college education because of her status as a vulnerable Syrian refugee woman in Lebanon. Sadly, the woman was unsuccessful in her attempts at finding a job to provide for her children. Although Khadijah had received vocational training in the sewing industry for three months, she failed - for apparent reasons that have to do with her status as a refugee - in turning what she learned into means to make a living for her children. Following years of poverty and reliance on humanitarian aid, she finally decided to do babysitting, in her shabby tent, for working mothers; making this her first job experience, through which she could finally provide for her children, depend on herself, and break the cycle of need.

Moving to Warda, as she preferred to call herself, the young woman got married at the age of fifteen, and was repeatedly abused by her husband, who is 10 years older than her, and who shows little regard to her being overburdened by housework and childbearing. When we asked her how things went, Warda said, "I would bring a toy for my child, and then play with him. How do I explain to my husband that I am still interested in such things and that what I want is to go back to school, and not limit myself to being a stay-at-home mother, who only cleans and takes care of the children?"

On a more positive note, Johaina is a young woman who lost her father due to aerial bombardement on their city, back in 2014. On that same day, she sustained a serious injury in her leg, and later on the family was forcibly displaced to Idlib, in the midst of the loss of all male members of the family. In defiance of all of these unbearable circumstances, Johaina did not give up, and showed great determination, resilience, and hard work. The young woman continued her university education with the support of Molham Team's Education Program, and is now a full-time teacher in a school in Idlib, and the breadwinner for her four younger siblings.

In addition to vulnerability, displacement, and financial difficulties, several other challenges come to mind when addressing the situation of Syrian women during the last decade. To give some background about how Molham Team works, our field officers regularly conduct regular needs assessment in the makeshift camps of northern Syria. Accordingly, we tailor the campaigns we launch and the projects we design in a manner that ensures we respond to the targeted locals' specific needs. Coming back to women's issues, during field visits in the makeshift camps of Idlib and its countryside, women's difficulties with daily activities are regularly observed and noted. As a matter of fact, in such overcrowded areas, sanitary facilities are shared by everyone, and tents are usually adjacent to one another, preventing proper access to healthy and private toilets for females, who are vulnerable to health risks, especially during menstruation. It is safe to say that the overall inadequate sanitary conditions in makeshift camps in such areas, often lead to infections and diseases, which women could have easily avoided, if only they were living in a world where access to water and sanitation were practically a guaranteed right to all people, as declared by the United Nations General Assembly back in 2010. In reality, access to water and sanitation is an issue that multiple international non-governmental organizations "NGOs" support based on conveniences and considerations that have little to do with the targeted locals. Having said that, it is necessary to continue to stress the importance of displaced Syrian women’s access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene, which would contribute in helping them regain their well-being and self-confidence.

Having thus far addressed women's issues only, it is icumbent upon us to affirm that the stories narrated in this article are intended to shed the light on the challenges of Syrian women, without minimizing those endured by other members of communities who are also forced to live in IDP and refugee camps, i.e. children and men. It is true that a great deal of the difficulties endured by displaced people who ended up in makeshift camps in northern Syrian relate to the lack of proper sanitary services and facilities, in addition to the lack of access to clean water and nearby medical centres. However, the purpose here is to emphasize that these challenges disproportionately affect women, in view of the link that these challenges have with female-specific health issues, such as menstruation, childbirth, and gynaecologic infections, as well as female-specific cultural considerations.

Over the years, Molham Team has regularly worked on multiple projects that aim at filling those gaps and responding to those specific needs, including projects that aim at providing sanitary services, access to water, and medical points in makeshift camps across northern Syria. Yet, we are convinced that by doing so, we have been treating the symptoms and not the cause. From our +10 years experience on the ground, we are firmly convinced that as a first step towards resolving the numerous social and health issues faced by Syrian women, forcibly displaced families must be relocated from makeshift camps and shelters into decent, real homes where they, and especially she and her, get to enjoy the right of privacy. This is exactly the goal that Molham Team seeks to achieve through its newly founded Shelter Program, particularly in its most recent campaign, #UntilTheLastTent, and this is exactly where international NGOs should start allocating funds. Even so, it goes without saying that social issues require deep-rooted social solutions, and that it all begins with education and awareness about issues like domestic abuse and early marriages, and working on correcting long-held beliefs and outdated social norms.

It is important to note here that we recognize that talking about traditional gender roles and doemstic abuse in local Syrian communities, as well as issues that relate to the high birth rates and prevelance of underage marriages in IDP and refugee camps, runs the risk of perpetuating stereotypes about Syrian women, and Muslim women, as portrayed by non-local media. Having mentioned that, we emphasize that the aim of this article is to highlight the context behind each individual story and social and cultural issue, and to clarify the logical basis that led these women, and continue to lead more women, to make difficlut decisions and choices every day, irrespective of our personal opinion or attiude towards these choices and decisions. 

To conclude, we would like to reiterate our pride towards all Syrian women out there, who still strive to make life possible despite all the hardships forced upon them by governments, social institutions, and other stakeholders. We would also like to pay respects to the 28,618 Syrian women who lost their right to life, dream, and the ability to give and put their nurturing, empathetic touch on the environments they were part of. Our only wish is that the near future brings some kind of justice and solace for all Syrian women, wherever they are, and no matter how far they have come in their journey. 

Written by Diala Ayman and Bayan Al-Halabi