CAIRO, Egypt, Mar 15 (IPS) – “I don’t assume the world understands what it means to be a girl dwelling in Syria right now,” explains Shatha, a girl from Deir-ez-Zor, Syria, who’s a survivor of gender-based violence. “It’s a life crammed with hazard, grief, and each day battle.”
Shatha’s story is just not remoted however echoes the harrowing experiences of many Syrian girls and women over the previous 13 years. In late 2023, Shatha’s hometown of Deir-ez-Zor turned one of many epicentres of probably the most important escalation of hostilities in Syria since 2019, which displaced over 120,000 individuals and affected quite a few well being amenities, faculties, water programs, and different essential infrastructures.
This was mere months after the devastating earthquake that struck the nation’s north-west in February, inflicting incalculable destruction and impacting almost 9 million individuals.
Because the Arab area — and certainly the world at massive — seems to sink ever deeper into the clutches of armed battle and humanitarian disasters, it’s essential to recollect the profound impression that the Syria disaster particularly has had on girls and women, who are sometimes the toughest hit throughout such emergencies.
Because the onset of hostilities in 2011, the scenario has escalated to unprecedented ranges, with 16.7 million individuals requiring humanitarian help all through the nation. Amongst them, greater than 8 million are girls and women, dealing with not solely the lack of their houses and family members but additionally the erasure of their futures and desires.
Along with experiencing ever-growing difficulties in accessing primary companies, notably important sexual and reproductive well being care, the tales from inside Syria and amongst refugee communities all through the area inform of a distressing normalization of gender-based violence.
Ladies and women report spiralling dangers of harassment, intimate companion violence, compelled and youngster marriages, conflict-related sexual violence, and different types of exploitation, now compounded by the proliferation of technology-facilitated abuses.
These are usually not merely fleeting narratives however reflections of deeper inequalities which might be turning into entrenched facets of post-war Syrian society, fuelled by financial collapse and the disintegration of social and safety networks.
Extra importantly, the worsening wants of Syrians are a cautionary story, unfolding in opposition to a backdrop of multiplying armed conflicts and humanitarian crises throughout the globe, from Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, and Lebanon within the area, to the catastrophic and far-reaching struggle in Ukraine, every demanding pressing consideration and important sources.
This increasing panorama of human distress has strained the already restricted humanitarian funding, overshadowing the wants in Syria and diminishing the help for its most susceptible populations.
The underfunding of the humanitarian response in Syria, notably companies aimed toward girls and women, is already being felt by quite a few communities. Important well being amenities offering life-saving reproductive healthcare are susceptible to imminent closure. Ladies and women’ protected areas, important for survivors of gender-based violence, are shutting down, leaving them with neither refuge nor help.
The ripple results of such underfunding additionally threaten to reverse any progress made in the direction of gender equality and girls’s empowerment, undermining societal improvement and stability at massive. A telling instance of it is a draft of a so-called “morality regulation” at the moment being circulated by the de facto ruling authorities in north-west Syria.
Along with severely curbing and criminalising primary human rights, the regulation primarily codifies male supremacy, considerably stopping girls and women from freely partaking in public and cultural life, manifesting their opinions and faith in public locations, or searching for employment or skilled coaching.
Regardless of these challenges, the resilience proven by Syrian girls and women is nothing in need of extraordinary. Many have risen above their circumstances, turning into neighborhood leaders, activists, and entrepreneurs, striving for a greater future for themselves and their communities. Their unyielding spirit underlines the significance of not simply assembly rapid wants but additionally investing of their long-term well-being and empowerment.
As we replicate on the continuing disaster, it’s crucial to place individuals earlier than politics. The worldwide neighborhood should not enable Syrian girls and women to be forgotten amidst the political impasse and the shifting priorities of world support.
Their well being, security, and dignity demand our rapid and unwavering help. We should make sure that the humanitarian response is totally funded, not solely to fulfill the pressing wants but additionally to put money into constructing a extra resilient Syria.
After 13 years, it’s time for the worldwide neighborhood to resume its dedication to Syrian girls and women, guaranteeing they’ve the help they should navigate the challenges they face right now and sooner or later.
Whereas their power and resilience encourage us, they need to not need to face the darkness alone. Allow us to stand with them, guaranteeing they aren’t forgotten however supported to rebuild their lives and communities.
Laila Baker is the Regional Director for Arab States of UNFPA, the UN’s sexual and reproductive well being company.
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