• 22 Jan, 2026

Syrian women activists have taken on the responsibility of organizing dialogues and forums to discuss the suffering of female detainees in Syrian regime detention centers, the social challenges faced by survivors, and ways to overcome the psychological impacts resulting from arbitrary imprisonment.

Earlier this month, the civil feminist network “Ana Hiya” (I Am She) organized its first forum in the town of Kafr Nabl in rural Idlib, aiming to highlight the plight of women who were imprisoned or forcibly disappeared in Syrian regime prisons, bring this issue back into public discussion, and call for international action on their behalf.

After their release, survivors face numerous challenges, most notably difficulties reintegrating into society and confronting socially ingrained prejudices and traditions, according to Zakia Al-Mahmoud, field coordinator for Ana Hiya.

Al-Mahmoud told Enab Baladi that the network is preparing to launch a series of forums aimed at producing recommendations that can pressure relevant authorities and the international community to support women survivors and those still detained in Syrian regime prisons.

Since March 2011, the number of women detained in Syrian regime prisons has reached approximately 8,000, with 43 women reported dead due to torture, according to statistics published by the Syrian Network for Human Rights in March 2018.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights reports that female detainees in regime prisons are subjected to various forms of humiliation, physical abuse, and systematic torture, from the moment of arrest until their arrival at detention centers.

Psychological support centers warn of the profound impact that imprisonment conditions have on women who survive detention in Syrian regime centers.

Ibrahim Qantar, a representative of the Youth Association for Social Development, told Enab Baladi that the forum also discussed the types of discrimination and violence faced by Syrian women.

Qantar added: “Violence against women in Syrian society increased after the revolution due to bombing, displacement, forced migration, loss of breadwinners, and the detention of family members.”

He believes that such forums can help apply pressure on decision-makers to reduce violence against women and “may serve as a starting point to solve some of these issues.”

Every year on November 25, the world observes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the United Nations in 1999.

Violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights, affecting 70% of women globally, according to UN statistics, and results in both legal and practical discrimination.