As the bloodshed continues in Syria,
and US military intervention becomes imminent, I am struck by the media’s lack
of attention to women in the Middle East. Even in the mainstream feminist blogosphere
there seems to be a complete lack of attention to the experiences of Syrian
woman living in a war-torn country. A quick search for the term “Syria” on
Jezebel.com, one of the most widely read “feminist” resources on the internet, returns
only one critique of Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad’s flippant use of social
media as her country explodes in violent conflict. Asma al-Assad, born and
educated in London, is young, stylish, and light skinned. Before the Syrian
conflict exploded, she was characterized by the media as a progressive and
reformist first lady. Since then, things have changed. Joan Juliet Buc (author of Vogue’s controversial article about Asma
entitled “A Rose in The Desert”) has dubbed her a “modern day Marie
Antoinette.” She has been publically criticized for touting the importance of
youth development while her husband brutally murders and displaces thousands of
civilian youth. Huberta von Voss-Wittig, wife of Germany's UN ambassador, and
Sheila Lyall Grant, wife of Britain's UN ambassador, even produced a video
directed at Asma, asking her to take a stand against her husband and his
supporters.
While the media’s focus on Asma
al-Assad is absolutely warranted, I am more concerned by the media’s lack of
attention to civilian women in Syria. To me, this is a stark example of the
invisibility of poor women and women of color in the media. While powerful women
like Asma al-Assad routinely garner international attention, women who fall
victim to political conflict and turmoil are systematically excluded from the
discourse. In short, everyone, and particularly women who identify as
“feminist,” should have a vested interest in the experience of Syrian women as
this crisis unfolds.
In particular, these issues should be receiving more media
attention:
1. Sexual and Other Forms of Violence Against
Women in the Context of the Syrian Crisis
Since the Syrian
Crisis began in March 2011, several human rights violations have been reported.
According to a brief report published by the International Federation for Human
Rights, arbitrary arrests and detention, extra-judicial executions, rape, other
forms of sexual violence, abduction, enforced disappearances and the use of
torture by Syrian authorities and pro-governmental militias have been widely
documented. In addition, various UN bodies and representatives, as well as
international and national NGOs, have documented crimes of sexual violence
committed during the Syrian crisis. Acts of rape and sexual assault are
occurring indiscriminately, but are also being used as a form of torture in
unofficial detention facilities. The report states that most reported
allegations of rape and sexual violence were said to have been perpetrated by
government forces and militias during house searches, at checkpoints, and while
women had been detained. In some cases, women were assaulted in public or in
front of family members, an act that carries a strong social stigma and is
associated with dishonor in Syria. As a result, women are often rejected by
their husbands or families after a rape. Increases in domestic violence have
been reported in response to sexual assault. In addition, many women are forcibly
married after rape or excommunicated from the home. Women who flee or are removed
from their homes are exposed to further exploitation as they struggle to find
food and fuel to survive. The exploitation of women and girls continues to be a
problem in refugee camps after they leave Syria.
2. Syrian Women as Part of the Opposition
While the
conflict has unfolded publically on sites like Youtube and Twitter, the bulk of
visible rebels are young Syrian males. Behind the scenes, however, young Syrian
women are playing a crucial role in the Syrian revolution. Several women took
part in the first demonstrations against the regime and many continue to
protest publically despite the inherent risks. CNN’s international
correspondent, Arwa Damon, reports on a female human rights activist. A couple
of months after she participated in demonstrations, she was detained and
imprisoned for 48 hours. After her release, she, like many other female
activists, was effectively driven into hiding. She reports that groups of
female activists sneak out and attend secret meetings in order to support the
opposition and help free activists who are still imprisoned. In addition, women
contribute to the opposition by stitching together opposition flags, making
face masks for the men to wear, and running secret underground clinics to treat
the wounded. They also organize to provide families of the dead or detained with
food, blankets and financial aid. Finally, women have been supporting the
opposition through the use of art, writing and social media. Asma documents her
interactions with one woman who picked up a camera and began filming the dead
and wounded in order to raise international awareness of the atrocities being
committed.
While the
majority of female Syrian activists choose to maintain anonymity for their
protection, a handful of women stand in public opposition to the Assad regime. Suhair Atassi is a Damascus-based political activist. She runs a Facebook
forum that calls for political reform in Syria. Atassi was arrested in March
2011 while protesting in Damascus. After spending a month in prison, she helped
found a local network to organize demonstrations, document abuses, and relay
the story of the uprising. She went into hiding for eight months, and then made
her way to Paris after being smuggled out of the country. Throughout it all,
Atassi used her laptop, Twitter and Skype to communicate with her allies.
Another remarkable woman, Razan
Zaitouneh is a Syrian human rights lawyer who is currently in
hiding after being accused by the government of being a foreign agent.
Zaitouneh's reporting to the foreign media on human rights abuses committed
against Syrian civilians through her website served as an important source of
information to the international community. Fadwa Suleiman, a Syrian actress who led a rally against the
Bashar al-Assad regime and was subsequently disowned by her family, has also
been lauded by international human rights organizations as a distinct face of
the opposition.
3. Syrian Women as Pro-Governmental Soldiers
In addition to
fighting against Bashar al-Assad, women are also training to fight for him. The
Syrian regime is reportedly arming and training women to fight as a pro-governmental
militia. The formation of the force comes amid speculation that the Syrian army
is depleted. According to a report in
Britain’s Independent newspaper, the all-female force, named the “Lionesses for
National Defense,” is part of an effort to supplement the army with a National
Defense Force militia made up of civilian volunteers. In practice, the women
have been confined to checkpoint control, although in the midst of the Syrian
conflict this effectively places them on the frontline. The Washington Post reports that their efforts are aimed at
checking women in headscarves. One activist reported to the that the militia
women “force women out of cars with deliberate roughness, rip off their veils
and scream insults at them…They treat them like they are female terrorists.
They call them al-Qaeda … and say, ‘the veil won’t protect you.’”.
In
sum, there are a lot of important things going on in Syria, and the feminist
community should really be paying more attention. It is our responsibility to
ensure that the voices of the world’s most vulnerable women are not drowned out
by the voices of those with power.
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Written by Lauren Gutman
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