Social and Humanitarian Issues

Illegal migration and its subsequent danger and violation of international laws have become the only solution for many people. What is sad about this is that we are often used to men’s migration, but to see children and women trying to save themselves from drowning is a great pain.

“The fact that there are children among those at risk, and that we, unfortunately, have to recover a number of the bodies of those who died, tugs at our heartstrings. Children are symbols that embody hope in life, and in these circumstances we feel disappointment and pain, not euphoria and hope.”
– Michel Nyusi: Navy Commander, Italian Coast Guard. [1]

Of course, the movement of people is not something new. The migration of people, whether for asylum or for any other reasons, occurred in eras that even preceded what mankind wrote down in history. If we trace our origins long enough into the past, we will all find that we belong somewhere else.

But the question that arises strongly is: Is illegal immigration the only way?

Reasons for illegal immigration

Every year the scene of young men, children, and women drowning in the seas is repeated. Thousands of people fleeing war, persecution, and poverty at home attempt to make such a journey. Countless lives are lost. Death does not differentiate between an infant or a young person in the prime of his life. This tragic scene became more and more frequent at a time when any safe and legal option for everyone who wants to reach Europe is absent. These people became spoils for the human traffickers. [2]

Risks to illegal immigrants

In addition to the high prices that migrants have to pay, their journey is unsafe and fraught with danger. It starts with the Coast Guard intercepting the vessels and forcing them to return. In addition, many illegal vessels were subjected to the so-called interception or forced return by the naval forces. European countries have formed joint forces to block boats with refugees on board. They are subjected to a lot of persecution and violence in order to repatriate to their homeland without distinguishing between a child and a woman.

In the past few years, international organizations have registered a significant number of illegal immigrants. It cannot be said that all of these numbers of drowned people have been saved.

Many of those who chose illegal immigration took unsafe vessels which are unprepared to travel large distances as a way to reach Europe. After cruising for several kilometers, these boats stop leaving the women and children on board at sea. Rescue teams often do not come to help or come late so they succeed in helping only a few of them. [2]

Suggested solutions to reduce the risks of illegal immigration

Refugee protecting can be facilitated by initiatives that limit the number of people who take illegal migration as their path. Those who apply for asylum are unconvincing because they have no other legal access to another country. Prospective immigrants need to be better informed about the consequences of illegal immigration. This is about the new opportunities available to them to migrate in a legitimate and safe manner, such as expanded family reunification programs, and labor migration. [3]

Every year the world’s media report similar news about travelers who have been shot, or they were thrown off the board in the open sea, or they were beaten to death. In some cases, seafarers’ crews reported their superiors to the relevant authorities. In other cases, stowaways escaped and told their stories. However, prosecutions are very rare, as evidence of the crime is often lost in the depths of the ocean. Along with the reasons that gave rise to despair among parents, their children, and their women to the point that they had to leave their countries of origin illegally. [3]

Also read: Crimes Against Child Victims.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] UNHCR REFUGEES Magazine

[2] MSF

[3] UNHCR

How was your childhood?
It may come to mind, after this question, a series of rosy memories and fine days in which we had no clear idea of life and its difficulties, but what about the other side of this question?

What about those whose childhood memories were filled with violence? Who lived the hardships of life and were subjected to various forms of exploitation since their earliest babyhood? Labels and manifestations may differ, but the concept of violence against children is the same.

The Definition of Violence Against Children

It is a practice that is classified as a form of human rights violation and varies to include various manifestations of violence, harm, physical or mental abuse, neglect, maltreatment, and exploitation, including sexual abuse. It is against people under 18 years old. 

When we ask about the perpetrators of these forms of violence, we will find the diversity of people involved to include the closest parties to the child, namely parents and family, in addition to other parties such as caregivers and peers, as well as some institutions. [1]

Types of Violence Against Children

1- Maltreatment and Violent Punishment: It may be natural for some families to consider violence against children to be a form of cruelty that is essential for better educational outcomes. The reason for adopting this method is either due to cultural circulation to which one or both parents were exposed during their childhood or due to the reasons related to the unstable psychological status of the parents, such as economic stress, drug or alcohol abuse, or other reasons such as the lower level of education.
This classification includes various forms of physical, sexual, and psychological violence in addition to neglect. This approach is not limited to parents but extends to include caregivers and other authority figures, as in schools and orphanages.

2- Sexual violence: includes non-consensual completed or attempted sexual contact and acts of a sexual nature not involving contact (such as voyeurism or sexual harassment). Due to the spread of social media and its reach into the hands of children, sexual predators have a new outlet to achieve these goals; as we note the recent spread of online exploitation. Another form of sexual violence is the acts of sex trafficking against children and use in prostitution where the child has no right to refuse or accept.

3- Emotional or psychological violence: It includes non-physical forms that are no less important than other forms, such as restricting the child’s movements, denigration, and ridicule, as well as threats, intimidation, and discrimination.

4- Intimate partner violence: involves physical, sexual, and emotional violence by an intimate partner. It commonly occurs against girls in child marriages and early/forced marriages. The same applies among romantically involved but unmarried adolescents; it is sometimes called “dating violence”.

5- Domination or bullying: unwanted aggressive behavior by another child or a group of children, and often takes place in schools and other settings where children gather, and online. [1]

The Causes of Violence Against Children

With the variety of parties causing violence, the causes also vary to include reasons within the family, such as lack of income, lack of emotional bonding between children and parents, poor parenting practices, and early or forced marriage.

As for societies in which violence is widespread, it has been observed that there are common characteristics among them, such as poverty, high population density, easy access to alcohol and firearms, high concentrations of gangs, and illicit drug dealing. [1]

The Impact of Violence Against Children

Childhood is the most important stage for the physical and psychological formation of human beings, and a Child’s upbringing in these unnatural conditions and an unsafe environment will have severe effects, including:

• Impair brain and nervous system development, and their negative effects on the child’s cognitive development and results in educational and vocational under-achievement. As well as the negative effects on the endocrine, circulatory, musculoskeletal, reproductive, respiratory and immune systems
• Negative coping and health-risk behaviors, as children exposed to violence, are substantially more likely to smoke, misuse alcohol and drugs, and engage in high-risk sexual behavior.
• Negative effects on mental health, as these children are exposed to childhood trauma and have high rates of anxiety, depression, suicide, and many other mental problems.
• Unintended pregnancies, induced abortions, gynecological problems, and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.
• Severe injuries often occur in males because of physical fighting and assault.
• Death as a result of manslaughter.
• Children who have been subjected to violence may tend to commit personal violence towards themselves or others later, which creates a vicious cycle of violence that will inevitably affect the next generations. [1]

Statistics on Violence Against Children

– According to the World Health Organization, it is estimated that about one billion children worldwide have experienced emotional, physical, and/or sexual violence.

– The study conducted by the global partnership to end violence against children 2016, has shown that every five minutes a child dies from violence.

– UNICEF also indicated that one in 10 girls under the age of 20 has been subjected to forced sexual acts. The study also showed that nearly one in 10 children worldwide lives in a country affected by conflict. [3]

Suggested Solutions

Many organizations have suggested solutions and strategies address this problem, including:

1. Strengthen economic support to families.
2. Change social norms to support parents and positive parenting.
3. Provide quality care and education early in life.
4. Enhance parenting skills to promote healthy child development through early childhood home visitation.
5. Intervene to reduce harm and prevent future risks by providing enhanced primary care, behavioral parent training programs, and providing treatment to reduce the harms of abuse and neglect.
6. Create new global initiatives to address violence and bullying. [2]
7. Media campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the negative impact of violence on child development and the impact of positive practices in preventing its occurrence.
8. New international standards have been adopted to protect children from violence and some countries have enacted legislation prohibiting physical, mental, and sexual violence to protect the rights of child victims. [4]

Finally, we send a message to every person whose childhood was distorted by one of these violations. You should know that your childhood traumas require a long recovery journey, psychological support from those around you and psychotherapists, in addition to a lot of patience. Ending the cycle of suffering and violence requires you to be more aware of it and not to deny its existence. Ask for help when you need it and always remember that you are not alone.

Also read: The phenomenon of Infant abandonment in Syria.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] WHO

[2] CDC

[3] SOS

[4] UN

Unfortunately, the phenomenon of Infant abandonment in Syria is no longer strange to any Syrian. It is a dangerous phenomenon that represents the clearest, most painful, and cruel remnants of war and ignorance.
According to an article in Al-Watan newspaper on May 12, 2022: “The General Director of the General Authority for Forensic Medicine, Dr. Zaher Hajjo, revealed that 38 foundlings have been documented since the beginning of this year until the date of preparing the news, including 17 female and 21 male.” [1]

This phenomenon is a clear reflection of the catastrophic conditions experienced by the Syrian people, which include economic conditions and moral tragedies as a result of the ugliness and violence of the war that the people have lived through for a long time.

In addition to the difficulty of a simple routine life, which is loaded with the constant burden of waiting for the most basic necessities of life. And the psychological effects resulting from this, and always expecting the worst, the situation is in a permanent decline.

Reasons behind the phenomenon of Infant abandonment

There are several reasons that create this severe phenomenon:

• Economic reasons:

As the war in Syria enters its eleventh year, families across the country are facing unprecedented levels of poverty and food insecurity. More Syrians today than ever are struggling to put food on their tables.

Large-scale hostilities and mass displacement across the northern governorates, along with a severe economic downturn, suggest that the overall food security situation is deteriorating across the country, and families need support to meet their needs and rebuild their lives.

The World Food Program estimates that 12.4 million Syrians are currently food insecure. This is an increase of 4.5 million in the last year alone and the highest number ever recorded.

The ongoing Syrian war has depleted community assets, wiped out livelihoods, and weakened the resilience of the family and society. [2]

• Social reasons:

Despite the bad economic conditions and the permanent deterioration, the prevailing social patterns are the main cause of child abuse.

Constant social pressure from society regarding the imperative of marriage and childbearing is the biggest cause of phenomena such as child throwing, domestic violence, and child labor. Because the reasons that cause individuals to have children are not based on personal convictions.

Moreover, many parents may be psychologically unfit to take responsibility for their children.

In addition to many of the prevailing ideas that encourage procreation without recognizing the economic reality experienced by the family, such as the popular saying: “when a child comes, his livelihood would come with him”. Unfortunately, many believe that and cause a permanent decline in the living situation of many families.

• Poor awareness of reproductive health:

In many Syrian regions, the culture of birth control is still weak due to ignorance and insufficient awareness of how and the importance of using contraceptive methods.

• Crimes of rape and illicit relations:

Many members of society still do not differentiate between the criminal and the victim in rape crimes, and they always punish the weaker party, which is the woman. Therefore, instead of the victim seeking to expose the criminal and obtain her right, she is satisfied with silence for fear of the rulings of society and in many cases out of fear for her life from those close to her, especially in the event of pregnancy. Either she resorts to illegal abortions, which puts her life at risk, or she waits for the baby to come and gets rid of him by cruel methods if she is not killed by those close to her.

Illicit relationships are usually characterized by evasion of responsibility without realizing the disastrous effects of abandoning children.

The legal aspect of this phenomenon

Article 484 of the Penal Code stipulates that whoever puts up or abets a child under the age of seven, or any other person who is unable to protect himself due to a physical or psychological condition, shall be punished by imprisonment from 3 months to a year. If the child or the incapacitated person was thrown away or left in a desolate place, the punishment will be from one to three years.

Article 487 of the Penal Code: “A father or mother who leaves their legal, illegitimate or adopted child, whether they refuse to implement the maintenance obligation that falls on them or neglect to obtain the means that enable them to fulfill it, shall be punished with imprisonment for three months at most and a fine not exceeding one hundred Syrian Pounds.” [3]

The fate of children after their abandonment

Syrian law defines the unknown parentage as “every child whose parentage is not proven or whose father is not known, in addition to children who have no breadwinner, and who cannot be asked about their relatives because of their young age; and children born from an illegal relationship, even if their mother is known.”

The Syrian law for people of unknown parentage was enacted in 1970, and has not undergone any fundamental amendment since that time, except for the issuance of some decrees, such as changing the word “foundling” to “unknown parentage.” In 2018, a new draft law for persons of unknown parentage was presented in the People’s Assembly for discussion. Although it is not new in its content and is only formulated according to the new legislative language, it has not been approved.

There is only one government care home for people of unknown parentage, and it is located in Damascus.  In the city of Aleppo, the “Childhood Guaranteeing Association”, commissioned by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, was recently allowed to establish a home for them that has the same powers as the governmental care home, and the same laws are applied to it under the supervision of the Ministry. As for the children found in the rest of the governorates, they are referred to as Damascus.

According to the law, whoever finds a child must immediately inform the police or the mayor, in order to organize the necessary report, and hand him over to one of the institutions or persons approved by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. [4]

Unfortunately, regardless of the suffering that these children may suffer in care homes, and the constant feeling that they are not desired by their parents, it is a society that plays the biggest role in abusing them instead of sympathizing with them as victims without guilt. Society reinforces the sense of rejection they feel by ostracizing them in many situations, especially with regard to marriage and establishing a family, and what they may need most is a sense of belonging and warmth.

Solutions

• The solution lies mainly in educating individuals about the social, economic, and moral responsibilities of childbearing.
• In addition to raising awareness of the importance of using contraceptives and providing them free of charge to those who need them in all government hospitals and health clinics.
• Improving the living situation, in general, will have a positive impact on all aspects of life, including the moral aspect, which would reduce the immoral phenomenon of throwing children.
• Implementing laws that guarantee the rights of children born as a result of crimes of rape and illegal relations, and psychologically rehabilitating their parents to be worthy of their care.
• Ensuring the protection of a woman who has been raped from any abuse she may be subjected to, thus limiting her taking harmful measures against her or her child.
• Changing the stereotype in society towards children of unknown parentage.

Efforts to reduce the phenomenon of Infant abandonment

Unfortunately, no real action was taken on the ground to reduce this phenomenon, and it was not considered a phenomenon in the first place. A member of the Executive Office of the Health, Social Affairs and Civil Defence Sector in Damascus Governorate, Basil Mihoub, told the local “Sham FM” radio: “The graph related to the presence of children left in the street does not indicate an increase, and within a period of one to two months, the situation turned to be points. He pointed out that “increasing means the transformation of the situation from a behaviour to a phenomenon, in addition to the finding of 4-5 cases per day.” [5]

We hope that this phenomenon will be taken into consideration and its catastrophic effects on the structure of society and that its causes that may lead to other problems will be addressed.

In our initiative, we seek to change the wrong prevailing ideas in society, and we try to spread awareness of the importance of equality between men and women and bring about positive change by discussing topics of interest to society. Real change results from the gradual change of ideas.

Also read: Role of Education in Peacebuilding.

♀ (Uplifting Syrian Women) is an initiative that seeks to build sustainable peace in Syria by focusing on and assisting women by providing free online courses, workshops, discussions and trainings; With the aim of achieving the goals of gender equality, quality education and improving the economic situation, which are in the interest of society in general and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References

[1] Alwatan

[2] WFP

[3] Learning Partnership

[4] Assafir Alarabi

[5] Al7al

Cyber-bullying and Cyber-harassment, how can we prevent technology from turning into a dangerous tool used to control or end someone’s life from behind screens?

Cyberbullying and cyber harassment are manifestations that we have heard about and seen happen without having a clear reaction other than anger and condemnation. The occurrence of such a thing cannot be a reason to hide and be afraid. Every individual who is exposed to cyberbullying and cyber harassment should disclose these crimes and not be afraid of them. With the progress of life and the development that we are witnessing in the world of cybercrime, the penalties for these crimes are found within the law and are applied to the perpetrators. Therefore, failure to seek help can lead the victims of these crimes to anxiety, depression, and in other cases, suicide.

Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment

Although cyberbullying and cyber harassment usually appear as new phenomena related to devices and social media. However, they are considered an extension of the bullying and harassment that occurs on the roads, parking lots, markets, and others.

UNICEF defines cyberbullying as “Cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can take place on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. It is repeated behavior, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted.” [1]

Sexual harassment was first mentioned in 1973 by researcher Mary Roy in a report for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since that time, definitions have varied. The definition of Cyber Harassment has become “the use of the Internet or modern means of communication to communicate with a female against her will by using words, insinuations, or images of a sexual nature that may lead to her being exposed to psychological or physical harm” [2, P.6]

Effects of Cyberbullying and Cyber Harassment on Individuals

Research indicates that up to 7 in 10 young people have experienced online abuse at some point, one in three victims of bullying have self-harmed as a result, and 1 in 10 has attempted suicide. [3]
Online violence, cyberbullying, and digital harassment affect over 70 percent of young people globally, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said, calling for concerted action to tackle and prevent this form of violence.[4]

The effects of cyberbullying and cyber harassment cannot be limited to anxiety and fear only. There are many stories around the world of people committing suicide due to cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying can cause much harm to the mental and physical health of victims. Overthinking and worrying can lead to depression and sleep deprivation. This causes physical exhaustion and an inability to perform daily tasks with the same vigor. Bullying can also reduce the victim’s trust in others and keep him away from social contact with his surroundings. In addition, it can cause loss of appetite and neglect of food, which makes the health of the body very poor.

Cyber ​​harassment differs from physical harassment in that there is no obvious physical contact between the offender and the victim. Yet, this does not mean underestimating its harmful effects, which can cause a lot of psychological harm to women. “Cyber harassment” causes great psychological and social harm to the victim, no less than being physically harassed, while the harasser remains – in most cases – unpunished as a result of the coverage provided by his hiding – most of the time – under fake names on the Internet. [5]

Stories and facts

The harmful effects of cyberbullying and cyber harassment cannot be proven until we hear the truth from the victims. There have been many stories on the Internet of victims of these crimes. In order for all to have a place to express their fears, here are some of the common stories:

1. Lamees. S, a Syrian college student, tells the story of her exposure to an attempt of blackmail and cyber harassment from a person who presented himself as a researcher and hacked a research project she was preparing. The student said: “I contacted a page that provides services to college students and helps them with research, to get to know someone who pledged paid assistance.” She adds, “The story started naturally, as he was asking me for information in order to complete the research better. Then he started repeating the request to meet under the pretext of completing the research to the fullest, and here I started to feel that the situation is taking a different turn.” After a while, the person asked the student to open the camera on the pretext of completing the research, which Lamis responded to, only to be surprised that the man appeared with a completely inappropriate view, and spoke to her with indecent words. Lamis says: “I didn’t know how to disconnect, I was very confused, then as soon as I hung up the phone, I received a video recording of the call, in which I seem to accept the situation.” She adds: “the person, who seemed respectful at first, started blackmailing me, and threatening me to publish the recording if I did not respond to his requests, that we enter into a relationship and then demand thousands of dollars. The blackmail continued for “tough” days for the college student, who told her sister and brother to seek help to get out of trouble. Lamees refused to reveal how she got rid of this predicament, which had troubled her life for days and nights because it was not easy, she said. [6]
2. Another story is for Cassie from the UK. “When I was 13 I started talking online to someone who said she was a model,” says Cassie. She started getting to know me and had me send pictures to her without clothes, to convince me to turn into a model like her. She threatened me with pictures if I would not do what she wanted. She asked me to send my address and other information in order to meet her manager. The next day a man came to my house, sexually assaulted me, and took pictures of everything. I didn’t know what to do and didn’t want to tell the police because I thought the police would say I was wasting their time. I started hurting and neglecting myself. Six months later, the police called me after arresting the criminal, as it turned out that he had committed similar crimes. The depression and anxiety persisted throughout my teenage years, and I took two overdoses. I didn’t get counseling until I was twenty-two. That’s when I decided what had happened didn’t have to define me and it really helped that I had a sense that justice had been done. Without that, it would have been more difficult to recover.” [7]

We all know similar stories of people and celebrities who have been bullied by the public and end up lonely, depressed, and sometimes committing suicide.
At Uplifting Syrian Women, we have a place where everyone can express their feelings and problems. We cannot hold the criminal accountable. Yet, we can support and encourage victims to report the crime to those responsible and not be afraid. Here in this place, we have created a safe environment for everyone.

Also read: Violence Against Women.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] UNICEF

[2] Academia

[3] UN Chronicle

[4] UN News

[5] STJ- SY

[6] Syria TV

[7] Globalcitizen

Do you know that the defense of women’s rights is crucial so far? Do you know how many women are subjected to violence around the world?

Violence against women is a global matter, which has existed and has been rooted in the past, and continues to this day. So far, until the time of writing of this article, at least one or numerous girls are subjected to one of the violence types . If we do not raise our voice, demand women’s rights, and seek equality, violence will continue and may become more dangerous and widespread.

“There is one universal truth, applicable to all countries, cultures, and communities: violence against women is never acceptable, never excusable, never tolerable.”
– Ban Ki-moon, Former United Nations Secretary-General, 2008. [1]

Estimates published by WHO indicate that globally about 1 in 3 women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner in their lifetime. [2]

Violence Against Women

The United Nations defines violence against women as “any act of gender-based violence that results in or is likely to result in, physical, sexual, or mental harm or suffering to women, which may occur in public or private life.” [2]

As a result, the terms Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) originated. “GBV” refers to harmful acts directed at an individual or a group of individuals based on their gender. It is mainly caused by gender inequality, stereotypes or norms, and roles in every society. While women and girls suffer greatly from GBV, men and boys can also be targeted.

Whereas, “VAWG” is defined as any act of gender-based violence that results in harm or suffering to women and girls in particular. [3]

Types and Forms of Violence Against Women

As mentioned, violence is embodied in many ways; and several types of it may overlap or exist together. Forms of violence against women:

• First: domestic violence, also called domestic abuse or intimate partner violence, is one of the most common forms of violence globally. The murder rate of women committed by their partners is 38% globally, while the rate of sexual assault by someone other than a partner is 6%. [2]

The primary goal of domestic violence is to gain or maintain power and control over a partner. It includes economic violence such as maintaining total control over financial resources and withholding access to money. Psychological and Emotional Violence such as insults, mind games, and psychological pressure. Physical and Sexual Violence such as hitting or using physical force to harm a partner and forcing them to take part in a sex act. [3]

There are often previous indications in the partner’s behavior and an escalation in violence and love of control.

• Second: femicide; refers to the intentional murder of women because they are women, and it differs from male homicide mainly in that most cases of femicide are committed by partners or ex-partners or anyone the victim knows. It is often preceded by abuses in the home or persistent death threats. [3]

A female may be killed by a member of her family or her husband’s family to erase the “dishonor” or “shame” she has brought, which is known as an Honour Killing. In addition, human trafficking, female genital mutilation, child marriage, and many others fall under the heading of violence against women.

Violence Impact on women and children

Violence to which a woman is subjected has grave consequences even after she survives it. It also has dire consequences for children which may be short- and long-term, whether they are subjected to violence by their mothers or they are just witnesses to the violence. Some of the effects of violence on women:

• Possible depression and anxiety disorders sleep difficulties, and thoughts of self-harm or suicide attempts.
• Unintended pregnancies, abortions, and sexually transmitted infections.
• Health effects can also include headaches, back pain and chronic pelvic pain syndromes, and gastrointestinal disorders
• Children who grow up in families where there is violence may suffer a range of behavioral and emotional disturbances. They may tend to use violence and force to achieve anything later in life. [2]

Also read: Women’s Employment.

RESPECT Women; a framework for preventing violence against women

With the aim of preventing violence against women, in 2019 WHO and UN Women with endorsement from 12 other UN and bilateral agencies published RESPECT women – a framework for preventing violence against women aimed at policymakers. Each letter of RESPECT stands for one of seven strategies:

R- Relationship skills strengthening.

E- Empowerment of women.

S- Services ensured.

P- Poverty reduced.

E- Enabling environments (schools, workplaces, public spaces) created.

C-Child and adolescent abuse prevented.

T- Transformed attitudes, beliefs, and norms.

Examples of promising interventions

1. First: Psychosocial support and psychological interventions for survivors of intimate partner violence; in addition to combined economic and social empowerment programs.
2. Second: Working with couples to improve communication and relationship skills, and participatory education with women and men to generate critical reflections about unequal gender power relationships.
3. Third: Community mobilization interventions to change unequal gender norms.
4. Fourth: School programs that enhance safety in schools and reduce/eliminate harsh punishment and include curricula that challenge gender stereotypes and promote relationships based on equality. [2]

In conclusion, we would like to mention that Situations of humanitarian crises and displacement may exacerbate violence rates. For example, cases of domestic violence have risen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. [2]

In Syria, according to UNICEF, the rate of child marriage was 13% before the war, and in 2019 the United Nations Anti-Violence Program showed that this percentage rose to 46%. Despite the lack of reports, the suffering and exposure of Syrian women to violence in its various forms is constantly increasing. [4]

Neither “habits” nor “stereotypes” allow what is wrong to become true.  Murder is a crime. Violence is a crime. Bullying is a crime. Silence and non-interference are wrong. Not to help is wrong. Nowadays, many women are beaten, abused and killed. So let’s work to protect and support women. Let us strengthen and encourage women. Because they are human above all else, like you and us, and certainly they have their rights. 

Women’s rights are human rights. As an initiative that focuses on the advancement of women in general, especially Syrian Women, we would like to let you know that we exist. We will not stop until you are treated equally. So cheer up, get up and try. Do not give up!

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] WHO PDF

[2] WHO

[3] UNWomen

[4] Suwar

“I collect cardboard and plastic daily in order to provide a living for me and my child”
-Lamia Khaled.

This is the case of Lamia, the Syrian refugee in Turkey after her husband died and she remained the only provider for her son and the supervisor of his education. Despite all these circumstances, she did not take her son out of school for the sake of completing his education. No matter how difficult life became, her son’s learning was a priority for her. [1]

History of Women’s Employment

When reading ancient history, it became clear to us that the main occupation of humans then was only agriculture, and hard work was not limited to men only, in addition to caring for children and the house, women used to do required hard physical effort such as grinding grain, carrying firewood, drawing and carrying water. Women had no rest periods except at childbirth. This traditional role of the housewife continued throughout the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, with the presence of electrical energy and the invention of effort-saving devices that helped reduce the effort and exhaustion of the housewife such as washing machines and vacuum cleaners, but it only reduced the time it takes for women to do the housework.

In general, women’s jobs outside their homes were associated with their usual household chores, as many women who lost their family’s breadwinner used to work from inside their homes sewing clothes and selling them to shop owners or as housemaids for the rich; afterward, the social and economic developments helped change the nature of women’s work, the growth of education led to an increase in the demand for teachers, office work and sales agents; as employers found that they could hire women at lower wages than men considering that men were responsible for the maintenance of the family, while women in these jobs were mostly single women and therefore could be paid less. [2]

During the first and second world wars, women were recruited for voluntary or paid work in order to send men to the armed forces, which created new fields for women’s jobs such as ammunition factories, driving buses, and managing banks and offices, which helped societies accept the idea of women’s employment, but this negatively affected when the war ended and the men returned, as women continued to work alongside men but with lower wages, which led to decline women’s work a step back at that time. [3]

Women’s Employment Around the World

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasized the need to provide good quality jobs for all and social equality for all, with the aim of reducing poverty, achieving gender equality, and promoting economic growth in all countries, but this seems difficult to achieve because, despite the increase in the educational attainment rate of women compared to Men and the efforts of countries and the United Nations to achieve this, many women around the world are still in the midst of suffering when starting their professional or practical path, starting from the difficulty of finding a good quality job opportunity and the transition to income inequality with men, which negatively affects women’s economic life. [4; p.1]

Statistics published in 2018 indicated that the female labour force participation rate of 48.5% in 2018 is still 26.5 (percentage points) lower than the male participation rate, in addition to that for every ten working men there are only six women working. Women face major gaps in the quality of the professions they practice, as the percentage of women working in family businesses is still more than twice that of men, and working conditions are often characterized by weakness and fragility, as there are no written work contracts and lack of respect for labor laws, in addition to the small number of women in managerial positions due to obstacles in the labour market Women are prevented from working in managerial positions. [5]

Perhaps the problem of the Taliban’s control of leadership and governance in Afghanistan is one of the biggest problems in this regard around the world, and after Afghan women were able to increase their academic experiences and enter the labour market and politics during the past two decades, the Taliban movement’s control of the country came in an attempt to abolish everything the Afghan women achieved, they prevented Afghan women from working and getting into taxis without a man with them, and many female teachers were dismissed from schools. [6]

Women’s Employment in the Arab Countries

As for Arab countries, what makes the work conditions of women most difficult is the prevalent social thinking that women are not entitled to work; there’s also the problem of harassment that may prevent many women from their dreams and desires for life, in addition to the fact that the burdens of caring for children and the elderly often fall on women. Despite some progress in education enrollment rates, women’s enrollment in science, engineering, and mathematics fields that provide higher-paying jobs is still lower, despite female excellence in education in general, which led to reinforcing that women get low-income jobs and increase the wage discrimination gap by gender. [7]

Also read: Honour Crime.

Women’s Employment in Syria and the Effects of War

The war has burdened the Syrian woman with great concerns and burdens and blew up all her dreams of a beautiful life. Many Syrian women have taken the role of a father and breadwinner outside the home, in addition to their main roles in caring for the home and taking care of children, the Syrian woman has floundered between her desires to pay attention to her children and to take care of their upbringing and studies; the issue does not stop here, as when a woman chooses a job to work with, the first thing she thinks about is who will take care of the children during her absence, especially if her husband or breadwinner is not present, which increases the burden on her; this made many Syrian women work in bad conditions and limited income just to demand what is enough to live and sustain life. Statistics indicate that the female labor force is 4 times that of men in Syria, and the crisis has forced Syrian women to try all kinds of professions, including construction, electricity, health care supply, and driving, in addition to previous work such as sewing, farming, and education. [8]

The problem of war and displacement in Syria did not only affect women but extended to include Syrian girls who were forced to marry out of fear of circumstances and in an effort to relieve the financial burdens on their families, even if the person does not match the girl’s age and intellectual qualifications, in addition to the increase in the rate of underage marriages and the high school dropout for girls as a result of fear for them. [9]

In conclusion, our initiative sees this problem as a great challenge, and all segments of society must cooperate together in order to help women overcome these circumstances of war that faced everyone, and this is what the initiative sought by providing workshops and training courses in many fields to help Syrian women find a job opportunity that brings her a decent living and an income that secures her basic needs.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] AJ+

[2] Britannica

[3] Future of Work Hub

[4] International Labour Organization-PDF

[5] International Labour Organization

[6] France 24

[7] Albank Aldawli

[8] Syrian Women for Democracy

[9] Suwar Magazine

“People do not interfere when it comes to the so-called honour killing, because they believe that women are a private property for men and for the family, and there is a permissiveness and violent societal complicity with this idea.”
-Lawyer Azza Soliman, president of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance. [1]

Honour crimes gather everything women fought throughout history, including extreme injustice against women, unfairness in ruling and punishment, community silence on the usurpation of rights, and unjust patriarchal laws that do not support women’s rights. In this article, we will shed a light on some aspects of this issue, hoping to give you the momentum to eradicate this social phenomenon.

The Concept of Honour Crimes

The term “honour crime” is used to describe the crime committed by the male against the female under the pretext of defending the honour of the family, or his own. This male is often a relative of the female, but some cases were recorded in which there was no connection between the perpetrator and the victim, and suspicion of honour piercing is enough to be the trigger for this crime.

In most cases, the shame is “washed away” at the woman’s expense only, without causing any harm to her supposed partner-in-crime. The method of killing differs between slaughtering or strangling, shooting, and other heinous means such as burying alive or stoning, and the crime may be committed openly in front of people’s eyes or it can happen secretly and keep under wraps.

Also read: What is homelessness and how can it be limited?

The Reason Behind the Naming of the Crime

The duels that happened between two men and often ended in the death of one of them aimed at defending honour, and the crime of killing a woman out of moral motive represented the safe alternative to defending honour. [1]
Honour, according to several sources: is the individual’s social status and the respect they enjoy, including qualities such as moral nobility, keeping promises, keeping covenants, defending the weak, and preserving the dignity of the country and servants.

This word has a strong impact on the souls in all societies, especially the Eastern ones, and as evidence of the effect of the term “honour crime,” we note that bystanders do not interfere when an honour crime is committed publicly once the offender declares that the motive is “honour,” even if the victim is a male.
In these cases, we note a broad social acceptance that sometimes extends to include state agencies, and the penal laws in some Arab countries still grant a lenient sentence to perpetrators of honour crimes. [1]

The Role of Syrian Women in Combating Honour Killings

In Syria, the majority of efforts to combat this type of crime were focused on the legal side, and Rima Fleihan, a human rights activist, indicated that the law facilitates the commission of crimes of this kind, while benefiting from the mitigation of the sentence. In 2005, the Syrian Women’s Observatory launched a campaign against honour killings with the aim of repealing Article 548 of the Syrian Penal Code and treating killers with this excuse – the honour excuse – as killers with any other excuse, without the possibility of prior benefit from this law. [2]

To clarify; this is an excerpt from Article 548, which states that “the perpetrator of murder or injury benefits from a mitigating excuse if he surprises his spouse, one of his ascendants, or descendants in a suspicious situation with another.” Thanks to continuous Syrian efforts, conferences and repeated campaigns, Law No. 2 was issued in 2020 to abolish Article 548 of the Syrian Penal Code. [3]
Efforts are still ongoing to counter this social acceptance and the prevailing cultural custom of the permissibility of this type of violence applied to women.

The Importance of Discontinuing the Term “Honour” to Justify Femicides

Amending the laws and regulations that protect the perpetrator in such crimes is an indispensable step on the way to eliminating this phenomenon, but it alone is not enough, because honour as a concept has a very dear place among members of society, which made it the easiest accusation under which many crimes against women are committed. Therefore, it is necessary to separate them, in order to avoid social acceptance of crimes that are disguised under the pretext of dishonour washing.

It is even more necessary when crimes are committed based on suspicion only, under the slogan “Kill her then confirm” [1], especially during the current era with the availability of technology means that, despite its many benefits, can be used to discredit an innocent girl, which leads her life within in such societies, that are still receptive to the crime of shame washing, to an end.
Murder is a crime that has its elements such as the offender, the victim, the motive, the trial, and the punishment. Here we pause and ask ourselves: When it is the case of a female victim and the apparent motive is an honour, why would the rules of the trial and the punishment change? and instead of punishing the offender, his courage for washing away his shame would be praised?

In conclusion, we, at Uplifting Syrian Woman Initiative, seek to create a safe space for women to express their problems and offer the best solution available, that is why we encourage women and girls who are subjected to any kind of threat or injustice to benefit from the services provided by our initiative, hoping that we, as women, could live safely within this society.

♀️ Uplifting Syrian Women Initiative aims at sustainable peace building in Syria through targeting women and providing them with free online courses, workshops, discussion sessions and trainings, with a view to achieving the goals of Gender Equality, Quality Education and Decent Work and Economic Growth, which all fall into the interest of society as a whole and serve the purpose of rebuilding it.

References:

[1] BBC News

[2] Syrian Women Organization

[3] SANA