Reports | 25 05 2020
On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Rozana spoke on Wednesday with Syrian journalist "Souriya," who had previously experienced detention in the prisons of the Syrian regime. She recounted some of the violations women are subjected to inside these prison cells.
Souriya says: "I am of the journalists arrested during a specific period. I was taken to the security branch… For starters, typically the first violation against a woman in custody, is that once she reaches the security branch—irrespective of whether she were accused or not—she is imediately subjected to a complete stripping of all her clothing. This causes a severe shock and dramatic psychological damage to her dignity; as she is searched in the nude in front of the prison warden—who would also personally strip search her.”
In her telephone interview with Rozana, the Syrian journalist says, “one personal case that I has witnessed in which not only a woman's rights but also humanity is violated; had been when several women in the postpartum period—i.e. who had recently given birth—were inside the prison cells."
She adds: "One particular prisoners in her twenties, who had given birth less than a week before, had been arrested in front of her place of work. What had been especially painful was that she had left her newborn baby girl at home asleep, and was heading to her workplace to sign on her maternity leave. There she was surprised by security elements dragging her to the security branch. I remember to date how much she agonized from her fever and hallucinations—all the while incessantly calling onto her little baby girl."
Women Assistance Organizations
As for the work of the official organizations and institutions, which help women and monitor the situation of battered women; Mrs. Sabah Hallak—of the Syrian Women’s League [SWL]—tells us of the theme of attempting to "reduce the use of women as a weapon of war.”
Mrs. Hallak, in her interview with Rozana, explains: "We are working on the documentation of all forms of violence against women committed by all parties [to the conflict]—not exclusively the regime; despite the fact that it remains the party with the most recorded instances of violations and violence. We unfortunately also have other armed actors who exert violence on women—namely murder, rape, and kidnapping, to name a few.”
Mrs. Hallak adds, "we document [these cases] with international organizations such as Amnesty [International] and the European-Mediterranean Human Rights Network. We also send these documented reports to the United Nations—both in New York and Geneva, so as to discuss this subject with the European Union in an effort to put pressure on governments and all parties to stop any form of violence against women.”
Mrs. Hallak points out that “since 2011, we—inside Syria—unfortunately are lacking [women’s] shelters. There was one center belonging to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, which is a private sector establishment," adding that "in neighboring countries—especially in Lebanon—there are centers for shelter and psychological support, which provide assistance to such women. Given the sheer magnitude of this tragedy experienced by the women, however, I can safely say that the full support which offers protection to all women at risk of violence, is absent.”
The Syrian Human Rights Network [SHRN], in its report issued on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women yesterday, says that in excess of 20 thousand women were killed in Syria since 2011; circa 19 thousand of them were killed at the hands of the Syrian regime.
In a report entitled "Syrian Women in the Eye of the Hurricane," the SHRN documents various types of violations against women by the regime's army; Kurdish forces; militant groups; various factions of the armed opposition; as well as the forces of both Russia and the international coalition.