![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.
When We Turned into Black-Clad Corpses
"We were women brilliant and bright with colour."
Stopped by the Morality Police in Raqqa
Narrow escape for a woman whose “offence” is waiting in a shop while the owner is out at the mosque.
Syria: Female Detainees Swap One Prison for Another
Women released from government jails face suspicion in their own communities.
Fleeing My Homeland, Syria
Reflections on leaving a war-torn country, perhaps forever.
Syria: Living on the Edge
Women challenge Islamic militants on their arbitrary rules on “modest dress”.
Syria: Searching For My Lost Father
In Raqqa, a mother pleads with Islamic State’s potentates for news of her abducted husband.
Escape From Raqqa
How a female activist managed to flee Islamic State forces in their Syrian stronghold.
Syria: A Run-In With Islamic State
Student's lawbooks nearly get him into big trouble at militant checkpoint near Raqqa.
Our Neighbours' House
Reflections on a childhood in the Syrian city of Raqqa, now under the control of Islamic State.