Women in opposition-held northern Syria have suffered from amputations and injuries caused by indiscriminate shelling and the proliferation of weapons during the more than 13-year war between Syrian regime forces and opposition factions. While all segments of society have been vulnerable to these injuries, the inferior status of women makes the experience of women who are amputated or physically disabled even more difficult and tragic.
A shrapnel from a warplane turned Syrian young woman Abeer Al-Kayyal from the city of Jisr al-Shughour in northern Idlib into a war casualty, in need of assistance in all aspects of her life, despite being in the prime of her youth. She says to Missing Perspectives: "I am filled with a feeling of helplessness and inadequacy, and I cannot forget the horror of that moment when I heard the roar of the missile explosion, then I saw my foot separated from my body, and then I lost consciousness due to the pain and fear that overwhelmed me. When I woke up, I found myself on a hospital bed with a permanent disability that changed the course of my life forever."
Abeer confirms that she was in her second year of university studies when a missile fell near her, resulting in the amputation of her right leg. To this day, her family has not been able to afford a prosthetic limb for her due to their poverty and the high cost of fitting prosthetics.
"I suffer from difficulty obtaining treatment, in addition to marginalisation and falling prey to psychological illnesses, without finding anyone to lend me a helping hand," she says.
Many women have been abandoned by their husbands after their injuries, on the pretext of their inability to care for the home and children. The woman is thus left alone and heartbroken, without receiving any financial compensation that would allow her to live with dignity. Many women find it difficult to work due to the effects of their injuries.
Bayan Al-Khashan, a displaced woman from the city of Ma'arat al-Nu'man to the Deir Hassoun camp in northern Idlib, is a mother of eight children. She was injured by a shrapnel from a warplane belonging to the Syrian regime on her house, which resulted in the amputation of her lower limbs and the loss of hearing in one of her ears.
Al-Khashan confirms that her husband could not bear her illness, so he abandoned her and married another woman.
"When a woman becomes disabled, the pain she suffers is not enough, but she also becomes marginalised and suffers from the way society looks at her, as if she should die before her time or become like any inanimate object with no role in this life," she says.
Team of Resilient Women
To help these women affected by the war, a young woman Asmaa Al-Masry formed a volunteer women's team to care for war-wounded women in northern Syria and bring them to a stage of psychological recovery, capacity building, and overcoming difficulties, as they are the most affected group by the war.
"I was shot in the foot by a sniper bullet while filming a peaceful demonstration, and I suffered greatly from disability problems," Al-Masry tells Missing Perspectives.
"So, I felt the suffering of war-wounded women, and I formed a team of 15 female volunteers. We continue to visit war-wounded women in their homes or camps to provide psychological support services, listen to their problems and concerns, and document their health and material needs. We also communicate with humanitarian organisations to request assistance and support for this oppressed group in society, and to secure the cost of medical treatment according to the available resources."
She adds: "We try to be a beacon of hope for them, and to give these women the will to live, the need to cling to hope, and the determination to face difficulties."
A United Nations report found that more than 300,000 have died in first 10 years of the war.
War-wounded women in northern Syria face material, social, and behavioural barriers that limit their ability to participate effectively in society, and in some cases have led to anxiety, depression, and the curse of psychological illness.