Statement of “from Syrian Women to Syrian Women” Feminist Initiative

Equity and Empowerment & White Hats for Sustainable Development

Thursday, 12 March 2020

The 2020 International Women’s Day campaign picked the slogan “equality” where the emerging global consensus highlights the fact that, despite some progress, real change has been slow and painful for the majority of women and girls in the world. Today, no single country can claim to have achieved gender equality. The multiple obstacles in law and culture also remain unchanged. Women and girls continue to suffer from underestimation; they work more, earn less, choose less, and suffer from multiple forms of violence at home and in public places. Moreover, there is a great threat of a retreat of hard-won feminist gains.
Following the same approach, and in order to achieve wider women’s solidarity, the feminist Equity and Empowerment and White Hats for Sustainable Development organizations , in cooperation with women leaderships in Idlib and Afrin, decided that this year the initiative will be “from Syrian women to Syrian women” so that women took the lead in all Its stages, from the preparation, the invitations of international personalities, to facilitating the meeting in both Arabic and English, and then agreeing on the outcomes of the meeting to be a future plan of action.We believe that bridging the gap between Syrian women at home and in the diaspora, through communication and opening transparent dialogues, creates harmony and produces better results in the long run. The work of women on social integration between women of different nationalities, religions and regions, and achieving social peace, establishes a sustainable peace.
On the other hand, the meeting included interventions of influential personalities such as Mrs. Waad Al-Khatib, the film director of “For Sama”, who praised the courage and resilience of the women despite the tragic conditions, and encouraged them to document what is happening because it will be a further evidence of the Syrian regime’s crimes against civilians In Idlib
Governorate. As for Mr. Klemens Semtner, the Adviser at the German Foreign Ministry, he emphasized his government’s support for Syrian women to enhance their resilience, which was also emphasized by Mrs. Lara Scarpitta, the gender adviser in the European Union, in addition to her mentioning the active role of women in achieving peace and that Syria is a female.
The meeting contained dialogues about the most important needs and messages of women at home and abroad. Accordingly, in the Equity and Empowerment and White Hats for Sustainable Development organizations, we adopt the demands of women in Idlib and Afrin and urge the donors and active actors to cooperate in order to achieve them, according to the following:
• The right to live in dignity, safety and tranquility with our children and families in our original homes and the safe return of the displaced women to their places of origin.
• Enjoying all civil rights, such as the right to freedom, the right to express opinions, and to obtain personal documents.
• The right to just laws that guarantee the full rights of women from custody and inheritance and abolish laws that discriminate against women.
• The right to full educational and health services that take into account the privacy of women.
• Equality with the women of the world.
• The right for Syrian women to be outside the detention centers and not a means of pressure and extortion.
• The right to participate and be represented in the civil and political work tracks.
• The right of non-traditional projects designed to support women.
• The right of protection and neutralization of humanitarian workers, teachers, and journalists.
• The right to reveal the fate of our fathers, husbands, children and brothers, who are forcibly disappeared..

Equity and Empowerment – EE