Bio
(Sawtna Training Program)
Sawtna is a training program by Syria Direct for Syrian women journalists across areas of control, aimed at boosting their professional capacity beyond traditional and stereotypical coverage and highlighting women’s voices in politics, economics and security.
Latest Articles
Economic empowerment programs for al-Hol returnees limited by lack of funding
Economic empowerment initiatives are crucial for women returning to Raqqa from the al-Hol detention camp to integrate into their communities. However, funding for small businesses is scarce and underprioritized.
Displaced Syrian women grapple with loss of real estate ownership
Property loss is among the most prominent repercussions of Syria’s 13-year conflict. Women are particularly affected, and face additional challenges to regaining their rights.
Sports activities for disabled people in northwestern Syria limited, unsustainable
Idlib’s Paralympics—cut short by the HTS-backed Salvation Government—were a welcome outlet for hundreds of disabled people of all ages in northwestern Syria, breaking social isolation and boosting self-confidence.
Disabled mothers in northwestern Syria face additional challenges, inadequate services
Disabled women in northwestern Syria navigate additional challenges in accessing reproductive healthcare.
Blackmail and scams: Digital violence stalks women in northwestern Syria
Digital violence is rampant in northwestern Syria, where women are particularly vulnerable to online blackmail and harassment by scammers, with little legal or social support.
The cost of water: Hasakah women harassed, exploited by service providers
Women in Hasakah city face harassment and exploitation by NGO-contracted water providers and private sellers who take advantage of their need for water.
Widows languish in Raqqa’s informal camps with little support
While some humanitarian organizations target informal displacement camps where 150,000 people have languished for years in Syria’s northern Raqqa province, the response falls short of what is needed, particularly for widows.
Women largely absent from northwestern Syria’s feeble political scene
Women are notably absent from efforts by independent political formations to gain a foothold in opposition-held northwestern Syria, an area dominated by armed factions.
One year into Suwayda’s uprising: Challenges and unfulfilled demands
One year into Suwayda’s anti-regime uprising, protesters remain committed to their political demands, none of which have been achieved so far. But as the number of people coming out to demonstrate declines, activists wonder about its future.
Marginalized and underpaid, women work Deir e-Zor’s fields
Finding few other options, many women and girls in the Deir e-Zor countryside spend their days in the fields as hourly farmworkers, facing difficult conditions for meager pay.
