Syria’s female rebels
“My aim is to defend the rights of the oppressed people,” said Iman, explaining her decision to participate in the popular movement to topple the Baath regime in Syria.
“I didn’t want to see the perpetrators of the massacres of Hama repeat what they did and yet go unpunished,” she added, referring to the military crackdown on the city’s rebellion in 1982. “As we waited for the spark of the revolution to arrive from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the change we were waiting for since we were little finally loomed in mid-March last year.”
Ever since, Iman has contributed to online opposition forums, including on Facebook, in addition to participating in demonstrations and liaising with prominent political activists on the ground.
“Any rebel, whether a male or a female, should not refrain from granting their support to the revolution,” says Iman, “from ‘liking’ a post, commenting or writing something on a Facebook page, to fieldwork through participating in peaceful demonstrations and raising awareness about the truth of the revolution among friends and acquaintances.”
Parents usually object to their daughters’ participation in the revolution out of fear for them being arrested or even sexually assaulted. Iman, however, believes that women’s participation is not only normal, since women are an essential part of society, but also indispensible because the tasks they perform cannot be carried out by men.
One of these tasks is providing care for the families of martyrs. Women in these families cannot interact with male strangers since they live in a conservative society, which makes it the responsibility of female activists to provide psychological support for the martyr’s children in addition to offering medical care to the injured.
Being involved in the revolution is not only about participating in demonstrations; it also includes humanitarian relief, according to the young woman, who was describing her disappointment with those who have failed to engage in the revolution.
“It hurts me the most when I see that people are silent about the regime’s crimes, or when my friends get arrested for merely going out on a peaceful demonstration to demand the simplest of their rights,” Iman said. “It also hurts me to see that whereas some are sacrificing their lives for our sake, others ignore their sacrifices and are reluctant to carry on the struggle afterwards.”
But still there are things about this revolution that make this young woman happy, such as breaking down the barrier of fear which was part of the daily life in Syria.
“I can now imagine a free Syria after Assad [is gone],” she said. “[Our existence is] [YZ1] the proof that he will not stay forever.”
Even though Iman’s family members do not oppose what she is doing, they try to curb her enthusiasm out of fear for her safety. But Iman’s determination and perseverance has proven to be stronger.
“I am fighting in order to overcome the boundaries that society usually imposes on anyone who has differing views,” she added.
The young activist admits that she often thinks about the possibility of being arrested, along with everything that could happen to her in jail, yet she has managed to convince herself that she would neither be the first victim, nor the last, because the brutality of the regime affects everybody, activists as well as ordinary citizens.
“Of course, I don’t wish to be arrested, but I try to not to be scared,” she adds. “At the end of the day, our demand is to achieve freedom, which could only be obtained through sacrifice.”
The undefeatable new generation
The first speech that President Bashar al-Assad gave before parliament after the uprising erupted, during which he failed to admit that Syria was facing a crisis, was the decisive moment that pushed Maria to engage in the popular mobilisation against the regime.
“Being a girl has not stopped me from playing an efficient and decisive role in this revolution side by side with men,” says Maria. “Very often, when we women go out [to demonstrate], it provokes the men because they see that we’re being beaten up and insulted while they, on the other hand, were too scared to do anything.”
The way Maria sees it, the revolution is equivalent to regaining freedom and dignity, which have been taken away by the current ruling family and its followers.
“It’s a revolution of a people trying to achieve democracy and it’s a peaceful one,” Maria continued. “I’m doing everything I can; I participate in demonstrations, communicate with other activists through social media forums and contribute financially.”
It was enough for Maria to come from an educated background that “stands against oppression and tyranny”, to win the support of conservative parents who initially stood against her participation in the revolution.
They believed political activism was a heavy burden for a young woman because it could result in her arrest and humiliation, in addition to distracting her from domestic responsibility, since she is married. Maria, however, confirms that these difficulties have not deterred from carrying on what she is doing.
“I planned my life in a way I could balance both my house chores and my revolutionary activity,” Maria said, adding that she cherishes every memory she has of revolution, whether bad or good.
“I have captured these moments in my mind in order to relate them to my children and grandchildren in the future,” she says. “It hurts me to see either an old man or a very young man being humiliated, or even to see a little girl crying because she has lost her father, or a mother weeping because of the loss of her son. But I have also witnessed happy moments. During a demonstration, a security officer was approaching me when I gave him a kick in a sensitive area and ran away. At that moment, I felt strong and I believed in the revolution.”
Maria lives in constant fear of being arrested whenever she participates in demonstrations, especially after hearing about what some of her friends have gone through.
“I’m scared of this unknown, and I’m also worried about my mother, my father, my husband and children,” she says. “But despite all of these feelings, I am still moving forward, undeterred from finishing what I’ve started. How would the revolution continue if everyone who participated in it was scared of being arrested? It’s now out of the question to go back.”
Iman and Maria share the same dream; they both want the regime to fall in order to spare the lives of innocent people, but moreover, they want everyone who has committed acts of killing and torture to go on trial.
Iman is struggling so that she can live under the reign of real justice and security, in a Syria free of dictatorship; she wants to forget the old image she has of her country where she did not dare to speak her mind.
As for Maria, whose personal dream is to pursue a career in journalism to have an effective role in the future, she hopes to see all of her compatriots working together to create a better Syria.
“I wish that those who have so far been standing by and watching would step in to support their people’s revolution and relinquish their fear,” says Maria. “Together, we need to [shape] a Syria ruled by the law and the constitution.”
