![Yazidi refugees celebrate news of the liberation of their homeland of Sinjar from ISIL extremists, while at a refugee camp on November 13, 2015 in Derek, Rojava, Syria.](https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_glossy+ret_img/https://iwpr.net/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/images/focus/GettyImages-496991140%20copy.jpg?h=56d0ca2e)
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Speaking Out: Women's Voices from Syria
Years active: 2015-2018
Women are among the hardest-hit by the war in Syria, yet many play vital roles in the struggle for human rights, gender equality, reconciliation and social justice.
IWPR’s Speaking Out project provides a space for female writers to share their experiences of daily life both in Syria or as refugees abroad. It is a platform where they can publish their views at a time when they struggle to be heard amid ongoing atrocities, mass displacement, collapsing public services, and personal tragedies.
The blog posts are written and published in Arabic and also translated into English for publication here and on IWPR’s Syria Stories website.
Signs and Wonders in a Damascus Prison
A prisoner finds some small comfort in rituals and fortune-telling.
A Wartime Education in Syria
A girl’s story of trying to get through secondary school and pass government-run exams.
In Syria, Even Our Smiles Are Taken Away
A mother longs to answer her children’s questions and give them a home once again.
Syria: Mother of Martyrs
The agony of losing children in war-torn Damascus province.
The Taste of Olive Oil and Thyme in Syria
A flavour from home brings a much-needed moment of comfort.
Syrian Woman Spends Three Months in a Men's Prison
A female activist has no regrets about helping government soldiers defect.
In Syria, Wanting to Study Can Get You Arrested
A young man is seized by government forces while on his way to an exam.
Surgery Under Fire in Aleppo
Activist recalls emergency operation which left her with a “revolutionary scar”.
Death From Above in Aleppo
Night of celebration descends into terror and destruction.