Women's issues and roles within the Syrian Civil War

1. {
Women’s Issues
and Roles Within
the Syrian Civil
War
Betty Jaeger

2. • Began when governmental forces opened fire on pro-
democracy protestors, killing several.
• Fueled nation-wide protests in attempt to force president
Assad’s resignation.
• Considered “A War Within A War,” between Assad’s security
forces and many different paramilitary groups that are
deeply opposed to one another. (ie. Military of ISIL, who
now reins 35% of the Syrian region).
• Approximately 300,000- 470,000 Syrians have lost their lives
within the last four years of fighting, and the casualties are
often difficult to identify. Casualties consist of primarily pro-
government soldiers and civilians.
• Governmental forces and paramilitaries have used crimes of
war to force civilians out of their homes, creating mass
displacement of citizens and a humanitarian crisis.
Since 2011, Syria has been in a full-scale conflict
between its own governing forces and rebel
brigades.

3. • Women specifically face the reality of becoming tactics of
warfare with the use of sexual violence and displacement. In
the case of the Syrian civil war, the rape of women has become
an attacking tactic utilized by the Assad regime and
paramilitaries to punish any civilians who stand in opposition
to current governmental decree within the region.
One Way the Syrian Civil
War Impacts Women: Rape
as a Tactic of War

4.  A method used by militaries, “To terrorize and demoralize
civilian communities in an attempt to pressure them to stop
supporting competing groups or to force them to leave an area”
(DeLargy 63).
 “Rape of an “enemy” woman aims at destroying the very fabric
of society, as women often are cast as symbolic bearers of
ethno/national identity through their roles as biological
cultural, and social reproducers of the community” (Baaz and
Stern 500).
 These attacks are intended to torture or humiliate the dignity of
women and families who threaten power relations such as
patriarchy and nationalism.
 Most rapes committed on Syrian women are by the Assad
security forces (Syrian military).
“National Security Rape”

5.  Currently, the UN has identified 13.5 million Syrians
in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
 6 million of which are internally displaced within
Syria.
 4.8 million are refugees outside of Syria.
 Turkey presently hosts over 2.7 million refugees.
(Wikipedia).
Another Way the Syrian
Civil War Impacts Women:
Displacement

6.  Patriarchal nature of pre-Arab Spring Syria has prevented an
actual, meaningful role for women in traditionally male-
dominated, formal peace negotiations, yet there has been
evidence female peace building on the local level.
 Important for conflicts like the Syrian civil war to promote the
presence of women in peace negotiations to present female
perspective.
 “Women often take a more gendered approach to the peace
process, ensuring to take into account the issues that affect the
most vulnerable of the population. It calls for the cessation of
gender-based violence, the adoption of “gender sensitive
policies and [policies that] protect women and girls from
sexual exploitation, early marriage, human trafficking and
rape, and gender equality when ensuring refugees and
internally displaced people the right to return” (Moore and
Tarsila Vol. 30).
Women’s Role in Peace
Negotiations in Syria

7.  Peace organizations like the Center for Civil Society and
Democracy in Syria takes a particular focus on women and
strengthening civil society.
 Offers trainings for a diverse range of women with different
ethnicities, including Kurdish, Arab, Sunni, Alawite, Christian,
Druze etc., to learn to take on a peacemaking initiative within their
community, and identify other women to include into a peace-
circle workshop to advocate peace-making strategies.
 “These peace circles then identify a priority issue and create a
strategy for advocacy, working to advance these objectives and
change the situation around them with an eye towards peace and
conflict resolution” (Moore and Tarsila Vol. 30).
Center for Civil Society and
Democracy in Syria (CCSDS

8.  The Civil War in Syria is a very complicated “war within a war,
within a war…” between the existing Assad regime and rebel
forces attempting to gain power over the country.
 Sexual assault and rape is used as a tactic of war to terrorize
communities and force displacement, this specifically impacts
women.
 Approximately 13.5 million civilians have been displaced both
internally and externally as refugees, creating a humanitarian
crisis worldwide. Most refugees consist of women and children.
 Women have played roles in peacemaking efforts at a local
level, but have a tendency to be excluded from formal
peacemaking conferences internationally.
Conclusion…

9.  Baaz, Maria Eriksson and Maria Stern (2009). “Why Do Soldiers
Rape?” Masculinity,
 Violence and Sexuality in the Armed Forces in the Congo
(DRC).”
 International Studies Quarterly Vol. 53, Iss. 2, Pp. 495-518
 DeLargy, Pamela (2013). “Sexual Violence and Women’s Health
in War.” In Women and Wars Carol Cohn, ed. Polity Press:
Cambridge. Pp. 54-79.

 “Syria: The Story of the Conflict.” BBC News 11 March 2016:
BBC 31 Oct. 2016.

 Moore, Cathrine, Talarico, Tarsila. “Inclusion to Exclusion:
Women in Syria.” Emory
 International Law Review, vol. 30, Iss. 1,
http://law.emory.edu/eilr/content/volume-30/issue-
2/articles/inclusion-exclusion-women-syria.html. Accessed 31
Oct 2016.
Bibliography