In northwestern Syria, which is still struggling to recover from the devastating quakes, a handful of extraordinary portrayals of women’s courage are surfacing as the globe observed International Women’s Day last Wednesday.
Women who are single or widowed are compelled to live in congested tent cities. According to humanitarian groups, the group are more likely to be harassed and mistreated.
And over 60% of the examined families, including those with female heads of family, had a household leader who was classified as a vulnerable person, according to the International Rescue Committee.
A communications officer of the committee, says Women and girls informed them they do not feel secure going to the restroom in packed group shelters. Some people claimed harassment.
The security of the female group is disproportionately affected by the absence of basic amenities like restrooms and toilets in the majority of accessible shelter alternatives.
According to statistics from the UN, the earthquakes in Syria have had an impact on about 9 million people and resulted in the displacement of over 105 thousand individuals. The destruction from last month has increased the significance of the responsibilities that women already serve.
Iman Abdel Razzaq, 44yo woman, resigned from her position as a pediatric nurse about a month prior to the earthquake so that she could have vascular surgery on her foot. Yet, the mother of four opened a free medical facility after realizing the extent of the damage and the demands it brought with it. “The situation in Jandaris was apocalyptic, people were terrified, children were crying everywhere and we could hear the moans and groans coming from under the houses that had fallen on the families living there,” Iman explained.
Syrian Women; Fresh Struggles
Iman and her coworkers have succeeded in continuing the initiative since the day it was established, immediately following the earthquakes. While we try to offer free healthcare to those in need, our work is volunteer and individualized. We don’t receive assistance from any organisations or government, so we must rely on private donations to purchase new supplies for the clinic, she added.
If the job ever becomes too much for her, she gets her strength from working because she believes medical and humanitarian work to be a magnificent purpose; it’s trying to save lives and assisting children.
In addition to caring for others, the female medical staff in northwest Syria also has to cope with the trauma their own kids experienced.
According to the IRC poll, two out of every three kids displayed signs of emotional distress. Over 50% of the families surveyed said that their kids experienced bad dreams.
Al-Abdullah, another female volunteer worker after the earthquake, was displaced by fighting in 2019, leaving her home in Saraqeb, east of Idlib, and moving to Qorqanya to stay with her family members. Al-Abdullah stated that her mother had awoken when the earthquake struck and began screaming for everyone to leave the home. She then hugged her kid and made her way out onto the street while being greeted by the perplexed looks of her neighbors.
Ever since the deadly earthquake the Civil Defence groups have been working constantly. One of the things Shahd, a third female volunteer, and her colleagues do is travel to the camps to provide medical treatment to the surviving people. They strive to convince these individuals—some of whom live in appalling circumstances—that Civil Defence is on their side, won’t leave them, and will provide whatever assistance is necessary.
