As Syrians mark the first anniversary of the fall of Assad on December 8, 2024, women who survived regime detention warn their ordeal did not end when they were released. For many, society remains a second prison.
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.
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.
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 women in northwestern Syria navigate additional challenges in accessing reproductive healthcare.
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.
Women in Hasakah city face harassment and exploitation by NGO-contracted water providers and private sellers who take advantage of their need for water.
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 are notably absent from efforts by independent political formations to gain a foothold in opposition-held northwestern Syria, an area dominated by armed factions.
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.
