Hasakah forum highlights plight of women in Suwayda amid ongoing Syrian conflict

HASAKAH, North and East Syria — As part of the Support Syrian Women campaign, the Joint Women’s Platform organized a dialogue forum in Hasakah, North and East Syria, under the slogan Together to Support Women in Suwayda Against Genocide.

The event sought to shed light on the suffering of Syrian women, particularly Druze women in Suwayda, amid the devastating repercussions of years of war. Discussions centered on two main themes: the impact of the Suwayda conflict on Druze women and the broader consequences of the Syrian conflict on women across the country.

The forum opened with a moment of silence in honor of martyrs, followed by recorded testimonies from women in Suwayda detailing grave violations they endured, including physical assaults, kidnappings, the killing of female relatives, and the burning of homes.

Statistics presented during the event highlighted the scale of the humanitarian disaster. Thirty-nine villages in Suwayda were completely destroyed, more than 800 people, many of them women and children, were killed, and the fate of 600 women from the region remains unknown to this day.

Activist Janda Mohammed led the first session, focusing on the political fallout following the regime’s collapse. She highlighted how radical religious authorities have marginalized Syrian minorities, excluding them from governance and constitutional recognition. Mohammed also emphasized the ongoing crimes committed against Syrians and the ruling powers’ persistent disregard for legal and humanitarian standards.

Participants called for the explicit inclusion of women’s rights in Syria’s new constitution, the strengthening of women’s organizations and civil society, and greater promotion of human rights awareness and accountability.

Noor al-Hafni, an administrator at the Zenobia Women’s Gathering, addressed the second theme, discussing the urgent need to support women in Suwayda and to elevate their plight into a broader public advocacy issue.

The forum concluded as a united feminist call to action against war crimes and human rights violations, sending a strong message of solidarity with the women of Suwayda and with all Syrian women affected by the ongoing conflict.