23/11/2020

Syriac Women’s Union published first issue of feminist newspaper, The Voice of Syriac Women

HASAKAH, Syria — A delegation from the Women’s Council of North and East Syria visited the Syriac Women’s Union branch in Hasakah on Sunday to discuss the status of women in society and North and East Syria and way to increase their participation in the structures of the Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA).

During the meeting, which took place at the Beth Nahrin Academy for Young Women in Hasakah, the two groups discussed ways in expand the role of women from all backgrounds in society beyond the home and stressed the need to cooperate cross ethnic and religious to increase women’s knowledge of their rights.

First Issue of The Voice of Syriac Women Published

The Syriac Women’s Union also celebrated the printing of the first issue of its newspaper, The Voice of Syriac Women.

Sham Qiryo, Editor-in-Chief of The Voice of Syriac Women, said the mission of the newspaper is to be a platform for communicating the voice of Syriac women in particular, and Syrian women in general, both inside and outside Syria.

Though the paper covers women’s issues from a feminist perspective, Qiryo noted that the publication was not exclusively run by women; men who support feminism are welcome to publish on social, historical, and cultural articles.

The newspaper’s first issue was dedicated to combating violence against women. The issue seeks to educate battered women about their rights and ways in which they could ensure them through the Syriac Women’s Union and other women’s rights organizations and authorities in North and East Syria.

The newspaper will be distributed in all areas of North and East Syria, said Qiryo, who invited the institutions of Democratic Autonomous Administration (DAA) to support the newspaper and assist in its publication and distribution.

Background

The Syriac Women’s Union was formed by the Beth Nahrin National Council to ensure a women’s focused space within its broader movement. Likewise, the founding of the Bethnahrin Women’s Protection Forces (Ḥaylawotho d’Sutoro d’Neshe d’Beth Nahrin, HSNB) in September 2015 secured a distinct role for women in the military, empowering women to engage in individual and communal self-defense. The HSBN has fought against the Islamic State and other adversarial forces in North and East Syria, especially around areas inhabited by Syriacs (Arameans–Assyrians–Chaldeans).