![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.
Life or Death a Matter of Luck in Damascus
A 100-metre walk home under mortar fire brings a strange sort of indifference.
Raqqa's "Merciful" Morality Squad
Woman detained for “crime” of sitting next to male bus driver.
Syria: The Martyr's Wife
She prayed that she’d misheard and that her husband was just working late.
Syria: A Lovers' Meeting, Postponed Indefinitely
“This is the story of how cheap our lives are in a land ruled by money and weapons.”
Syria: Journey Into Revolution
Choosing sides costs young woman her old life and family connections.
In Syria, a Ghost City Full of Painful Memories
Traumatic associations between place and personal loss.
Syria: Bitterness of Exile
Displacement and loss of a family caught up in conflict.
Syria: In Yarmouk, Facing Another Exile
Remembering an attack on the biggest Palestinian refugee camp.
Unwanted Attentions at Syrian Checkpoint
Women face dangers from government soldiers as well as Islamic rebels.