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A gender just world in Syria: How far is this from reality?

BySriparna Pathak
Jan 15, 2025 03:07 PM IST

This article is authored by Sriparna Pathak. 

Women, across time and geography, continue bearing disproportionate burdens of conflicts and wars. From forced displacement, to gender-based violence to human trafficking to further limited access to education and economic opportunities, the list of these disproportionate burdens is endless. In early December, opposition forces declared Syria as being liberated from the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, as opposition forces surged into the capital. The stunning falls of more than 53 years of the al-Assad family rule was seen as a historic moment, nearly 14 years after civilians in Syria rose in peaceful protests against the government, which in turn responded with violence, that quickly spiralled into a bloody civil war. The Syrian economy has been in shambles for years. Syrian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2024 is expected to be a mere $ 9.42 billion, and this represents a significant decline from the country’s pre-conflict GDP, which was roughly around $ 61.39 billion in 2010. The economy has been hit with more than $ 1.2 trillion in cumulative financial losses from the conflict.

A Syrian refugee (AFP) PREMIUM
A Syrian refugee (AFP)

After more than a decade of war, Syria’s humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations stating that at least 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line. To add to the crisis, State subsidies on food and fuel have also been cut drastically in recent years. Amidst Syria’s economic collapse, organised crime and industrial-level drug production became rife, and Syria in all probability is now the world’s biggest narco-State, specialising in the production of an amphetamine, known as captagon. The drug trade has made inroads into practically every corner of the country’s military and militia network.

Drug abuse, in any case, has a devastating effect on society as a whole. Along with the spread of drugs, comes a spike in crimes. The case has been no different in Syria. There has been a deliberate targeting of women, and children by drug networks, to recruit them as dealers, as they have relative ease to move about. Some women were also led to heroin addiction by their husbands and subsequently pushed into prostitution. The abuse of drugs and the rise in criminality is only one aspect of the disproportionate effects of the civil war on women in Syria. The human trafficking market in Syria is another huge problem that has not even been started to be addressed. The market for human trafficking in Syria is pervasive, with the country ranked as among the worst in the world for human trafficking. Syria continues to remain a major source and destination country for sexual exploitation, forced labour and domestic servitude. While Syrians have been trafficked to neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq, people from Iraq and Philippines primarily have been trafficked to Syria. Syrian children have been exploited by both state and non-state actors, and have been forced to participate as combatants, suicide bombers, human shields, or executioners. Profits from organ trade are also a concern and are generated from foreign demand, with online platforms increasingly used to advertise and facilitate organ trade.

As stated by the United Nations Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner, the conflict in Syria has affected women’s abilities to enjoy the most basic rights, including the right to health and food. In the country, almost six million people are in dire need of nutritional assistance, and 74% of them are women and girls. Additionally, 92% of female headed households living in displacement camps in the country, report insufficient capability to meet basic needs. Systematic attacks on health care facilities throughout the conflict have severely reduced women’s access to health care, including reproductive health care services.

Socioeconomic decay has pushed families into poverty, disproportionately affecting women and children. 85% of households struggle to make ends meet, thereby increasing their propensity to rely on humanitarian aid, and coping mechanisms such as sub-optimal consumption and/or child labour. Displaced women and children continue to live under the threat of violence, with no means to earn livelihoods, as well as no means to basic services. The rights of girls in particular have been compromised, including the denial of their right to education. Additionally, restrictions on movements, drastically impact their lives.

Even after a month after the collapse of the ousted Assad government, national reconciliation remains uncertain. The country’s interim government had initially planned to hold a national dialogue conference among the representatives of various ethnic and religious groups in January. But the meeting has been postponed. The interim government is led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and other bodies. The international community has now been calling on Syria to rebuild the country by bringing all people, including minorities together. However, the fault does not lie with the ousted Assad regime alone on the fate that has been forced on Syrians. The international community’s double standards is clearly visible in the ways in which it respond to the Russia- Ukraine crisis, versus that in Syria. A more concerted approach is needed from the United Nations, beyond publication of mere reports and pronouncements. Women’s groups and other rights groups need to raise the plight of the affected in Syria for the last 14 years repeatedly at the highest levels of international governance.

This article is authored by Sriparna Pathak, associate professor, Chinese Studies and International Relations, Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat.

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