Centre to combat violence against women in Syrian Kurdistan

Centre to combat violence against women in Syrian Kurdistan 
QAMISHLO, Syrian Kurdistan,— A women's centre has been set up in the Kurdish city on Qamishlo (Qamishli) in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) to tackle the problem of violence against women. The centre brings together three communities: the Kurds, Arabs and Assyrians.



The Sara Women's Association is run by a committee consisting of 12 members, with six sub-committees: Funding, Law, Service-Projects, Media, Archive and External Relations.

The association has already become a focal point for women of different ethnic backgrounds.

One of the association's directors, Neja Amin, spoke to ANF, underlining the fact that since women have common problems everyone can become a member of the association, regardless of ethnicity, religion or organisation.

Amin said the aim of the organisation was to wage a struggle against all kinds of violence against women, psychological as well as physical, and combat all manner of things that break the will of women.    


She added that the association also helped women who had suffered violence to regain their confidence.

Amin said the Sara Women's Association worked in coordination with international institutions in addition to organisations in Rojava.

She added: "Violence is the same everywhere. Violence in one place can affect women in other places. We are therefore opposed to all kinds of violence wherever in occurs in the world and we will continue our struggle against it."

She said one of the aims of the association was to combat forced marriages, 'honour' crimes, child marriage and polygamy, adding that they would speak to the families involved in such situations and endeavour to find a solution.

She said that they also carried out activities such as issuing press statements and organising protests towww.Ekurd.net prevent violence against women, emphasising that they were waging a struggle for the recognition of rights for all women and to empower them. 

Emin added that one of the aims of the association was to develop projects designed to help women gain economic independence. She said they obtained funding from their members and from internal and external charities. She said they have an annual conference, and emphasised that since the association was established they have raised the problems of women from different ethnic backgrounds, resolving them on the basis of social morality. Amin added they had made particular efforts to prevent divorce, saying they had been able to resolve many problems in this area. 


 firatnews.com