Transcending silence

Sandra is an activist. She was part of a team in Syria that brought necessities to families who were too scared to leave their house.

‘We sent her to the countryside. We wanted her to help families who were too frightened to help themselves,’ said Ahmed, a fellow activist and close friend of Sandra’s.

When Sandra was walking back from distributing blankets, pillows, and other non-food items (NFI), three regime officers stopped her. Nobody saw her until hours later.

‘When we found her, she had been raped and beaten,’ said Ahmed.

RAPE AND OTHER FORMS OF VIOLENCE

Syrian women are suffering an epidemic of gender-related violence, both at home and in the countries where they have taken refuge. Rape is widespread on the battlefield, but even in the relative safety of the Diaspora, women and girls are increasingly subject to domestic violence, prostitution and early marriage, say NGOs.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) and a local non-government organization (NGO) named Abaad, an NGO dedicated to helping Syrian refugees, conducted a study in Lebanon in August of 2012. The research revealed that rape was a big aspect of the war in Syria.

Focus groups commonly reported that armed actors from the regime and parts of the opposition had broken into peoples’ homes and targeted women in order to ‘dishonour’ families. Women also identified rape as a form of torture inside prisons, and in such cases, some women stated that the guards forced male inmates to watch.

As for those who have fled, escaping the war has hardly meant escaping the anguish. Due to displacement, Syrian women have been increasingly vulnerable to domestic violence and sexual exploitation.

RISE IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

There is no clear data indicating the severity of domestic violence amongst Syria’s displaced. However, many Lebanese NGOs say that the prevalence has noticeably risen over the last six months.

Roula, a social worker with Abaad, believes the rise in domestic violence is due to the existential trauma affecting displaced men.

‘The war has prohibited men from assuming their traditional gender role. This includes protecting the family, protecting the homeland, and being the one securing all the needs of the family,’ said Roula.

‘Men who identify themselves with this traditional role are suffering from insecurity. This is because they are no longer capable of performing it due to the exterior economic and social situations facing them.’

To combat this issue, Abaad will be working with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to provide psychosocial treatment for perpetrators of domestic violence. ‘We have to work with the men as much as we do with the women,’ said Roula.

These focus groups will provide a safer environment for men to express their anger and anxiety. Many social workers, however, stress the importance of facilitating a deconstruction of gender norms.

‘We have to address the issues and limitations with each man’s self-perception of masculinity,’ said Outeiba, a psychologist working with Palestinian women from Syria.

Furthermore, the Lebanese government estimates that one million Syrians are residing in the country. This amounts to twenty-five percent of the Lebanese population, an influx influencing the economy considerably. With minimum labour wages decreasing and housing costs mounting, immense poverty has pressured families to determine the worth of their children.

Since dire circumstances persuade and sometimes force boys into child labour, families generally consider them more valuable than girls because of their financial contributions.

MARRYING OFF DAUGHTERS

Hence, to survive impoverishment, many families have elected to marry their daughters to strangers at an alarmingly early age. These girls are typically between the ages of twelve and thirteen. ‘For many of these families, marrying their daughter off means one less mouth to feed’ said Heba, a program director for KAFA, a Lebanese NGO focusing on women’s rights.

Yet for other parents, departing from their daughters is a method to secure their dowry. ‘Families are desperate to receive the dowry. It could mean the difference between homelessness and securing rent for a couple more months,’ said Heba.

Moreover, with cases of rape and sexual harassment rising, some families have given their daughters away to ensure their ‘protection.’

‘Some parents try to find financially secure men to care for and shelter their daughters,’ said Heba. Yet, as Roula is quick to point out, the men who often marry these girls behave as if they own them. ‘We must view early marriage as a form of mask trafficking’ said Roula.

Once married, the young bride is at the mercy of her husband. Not only is she torn from her relatives, she is also isolated from any form of social assistance. Husbands can corral these girls into prostitution, coerce them into doing slave-like labour, or simply impregnate them at a very early age. Even in less drastic scenarios, the girl is completely unfree.

Displacement has also pressured women to practice prostitution. In Lebanon, women performing in the formal sector are employed as ‘bar-maids’ or ‘dancers.’ Only later do some women find out that they have to sleep with their clients. Most Syrian women, however, perform informal prostitution, a practice that takes place on street corners and highways. These women commonly provide sex in exchange for shelter, food, or even fresh water. ‘Most women don’t perform prostitution for money but for security,’ said Roula.

Furthermore, women practicing prostitution may suggest that their situation is ordinary. ‘Women normalize their situation to endure it,’ said Heba.

‘But they know it’s not true. On too many occasions women have told me how much they hate it, how much they want to stop, and how impossible it is for them to do so.’

DOMINATION PRODUCES RESISTANCE

The ripples of war have entrapped the women from Syria in a cycle of misery. Displaced women have suffered from the hands of armed actors, their host communities, and members of their family. Regardless, these women refuse to be merely victims of war.

Despite her traumatizing experience, Sandra has been delivering aid to refugees on the Turkish/Syrian border. She’s still coming to terms with what took place that evening in the countryside. Nevertheless, she has continued to provide relief to fellow victims of sexual harassment and rape. Sandra’s actions encapsulate Syria’s uprising. Her story shows that wherever domination takes place, a form of resistance emerges from it.

‘Her perseverance gives me strength,’ said Ahmed. ‘It’s given me new faith in the revolution.’

*Mathew Nashed is a journalist working with refugees in Istanbul.

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