Women’s organizations in Beth Nahrin mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

BETH NAHRIN — Coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, 25 November, the Bethnahrin Women’s Union (Huyodo d’Neshe d’Beth Nahrin, HNB) issued a statement saluting and offering respect to the women of the world, especially women of the Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) people. 

Throughout history, said the statement, women’s achievements have been undervalued and they have been subjected to violence and oppression. Many women around the world have not been allowed the means to learn, making them easier to persecute and treat as property. Syriac women are also subjected to injustice and violence in several countries, but not only in Beth Nahrin (Mesopotamia).

“Syriac women in Europe convince themselves that they are free,” read the statement. “Injustice is not only limited to violence, but also includes assimilation and loss of identity. We must realize that governments have been pushing for us to assimilate into Western societies.”

“The HNB has pursued, and will continue to pursue, the path of freedom for our people, especially in the struggle for gender equality.”

The HNB denounces oppression, reactivity and all forms of violence against women, including gender discrimination.

In Qabre Hewore (Al-Qahtaniyah) in North and East Syria, the Syriac Women’s Union (SWU) held a dialogue seminar on women’s rights and violence against women, both by society and the family.

Member of the SWU’s Qabre Hewore branch Chaza Gharibo told SuroyoTV that the organization, and all women’s organizations and institutions in North and East Syria, continues to give lectures to educate women and enable them to defend themselves and to understand their rights.

Gharibo noted that such seminars and lectures help women break the restrictions of violence they have experienced, whether during or before the civil war, and prepare them intellectually to defend themselves and to stand up to violence at home or in society.

“During these lectures, we seek for women to enjoy their rights like any member of society who is fully free, and they support every woman who has been able to break the shackles of society,” Gharibo said.