Our Work In
What the people of Syria have endured under Bashar al-Assad’s brutal government and years of civil war is unimaginable. But with the fall of the Assad regime, a transformative window of opportunity has opened for the Syrian people to build a new democratic and peaceful future, one that centers the experiences, hopes, and vision of survivors.
For those of you watching the historic events unfolding in Syria and looking for ways to support women peacebuilders there, here’s what MADRE’s partners are doing:
For the first time in 14 years, people are able to return to their homes and families after being forcibly separated by the regime and the war. MADRE's partners--a network of Syrian feminists working inside Syria and in Turkey and Lebanon with Syrian refugees -- are providing transportation costs, logistical support to cross borders and find safe passage, and psychosocial support for returning refugees.
As the Assad regime's notorious prisons and torture centers are emptied, MADRE is supporting a network of trained mental health counselors, including specialists on the concept of Ambiguous Loss, to provide mental healthcare to freed prisoners and to families who are confronting horrific realities regarding the fate of their disappeared loved ones.
Hundreds of women and girls are being released from the regime's prisons. We still don't have exact numbers -- there are more everyday. Many faced extensive sexual violence at the hands of their captors and now have children in thier care. While male detainees are welcomed home as heroes, many of these women face stigma and rejection if they return to their families. We are funding safe shelters, medical care, and food, as well as trauma counseling and case management for ensuring documentation and citizenship registration for the children, who have lived their entire lives in prison.
Women Now for Development works to organize Syrian women and girls through local women’s centers in Syria, and in refugee’s communities in Lebanon and Turkey, to advance their rights and meet their needs. With MADRE, Women Now for Development initiates women-led programs to protect Syrian women and girls and assist them to find their political voice and participate in building a new, peaceful Syria that respects and safeguards equal rights for all.
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