Violence against women, media blackout allowing its escalation

Violence against women, media blackout allowing its escalation

Abu Anas Al-Souri – Tafas

I was returning from work when I heard the screams of a girl shouting at the top of her lungs, “Help me.” In our rural community, it is natural to offer assistance to those in need. I hurriedly entered their house, only to find her elderly father slapping and beating her with a stick without any compassion or mercy. I managed to pull him away from her, and I asked him about the reason for such harsh treatment. He replied that she wanted to go to school! I questioned him about the problem with that, to which he said that their customs and traditions reject educating women and requested that I not interfere in his family matters.

The issue of violence against women is a common and sensitive matter in Hauran. Women bear a significant responsibility for family formation and construction, in addition to their role in childbirth and raising children. They are not just half of society, as commonly said; rather, they play a crucial role in building the entire community, and their well-being contributes to the community’s overall well-being.

Women in our Syrian society are subjected to various forms of violence persistently. This not only includes physical violence but also verbal and psychological abuse, which is even more dangerous as its negative effects linger in a woman’s memory, generating feelings of resentment. Moreover, it leads to the negation of her fundamental rights, such as the right to education, decision-making, and the right to life. All of this can be attributed to various factors that have worsened amid the war that the country has experienced, with one of the main factors being the customs and traditions that dominate our societies.

These obstacles and others diminish the role of women in contributing alongside men in economic, political, social, intellectual, and other fields. Relationships built on oppression and control over one part of society, preventing them from expressing their thoughts and opinions, lead to the absence of the real role of this party. In the absence of the enforcement of laws that guarantee their rights, and given the high costs of resorting to courts in difficult living conditions, they have no choice but to accept their reality.

Hence, the role of organizations and media outlets becomes crucial in organizing awareness campaigns about violence against women and girls. They should exert pressure on decision-makers to emphasize the necessity of women obtaining their rights through enforced laws, criminalizing violence against women, and raising the level of penalties for perpetrators for a more stable and just society.