March 15, 2016: War forcing Syrian women to take a lead role to survive, despite numerous risks, says new CARE report.
Five years of war have left Syrian women under immense pressure as they struggle to fill gaps in family income and deteriorating public services, a new report from CARE International says.
The report, “Women, Work and War” highlights the impact of war on Syrian women’s struggle to provide for their families, and the risks in doing so.
“Women are stepping up, because they must,” says Salam Kanaan, Country Director of CARE Jordan. “They are assuming the role of breadwinner, particularly in female-headed households. Other women walk a tightrope between generating income and managing the disapproval of their husbands or male relatives – as traditionally, men were the main wage-earner. ”
In pre-crisis Syria, only 22 percent of women participated in the formal workforce. But as men leave home to fight, are killed, or return to Syria from neighboring countries, more responsibilities are falling to women. Currently in some areas of Syria, almost 20 percent of households are female-headed says CARE signaling a dramatic shift in the role of women in this crisis.
“In parts of Syria, cut off from water, fuel and medicine, women walk long distances to carry fire wood, or fetch water. They face sniper fire crossing frontlines as they smuggle essential medical supplies into besieged areas,” says Richard Hamilton, Director of CARE’s Regional Syria Response.
The shifting gender dynamics plays out further when Syrians leave to enter neighbouring countries as refugees, where up to 35 percent of households are headed by women, according to the UN. Here, it is the men that frequently struggle to find work – often because they are discriminated against due to their refugee status. For women, this can pose even greater threats of sexual harassment and exploitation.
“Not only are there risks for women in the workplace, but there is the additional threat in the home that the changing roles and demands on women will increase family tensions, or worse, domestic violence. With the economic balance of power shifting within the family, some men feel unable to support their families and become increasingly frustrated,” explains Kanaan.
“We need to work with communities to ensure there is support for women as they seek to contribute to family incomes, and that specific support for women does not trigger backlash,” Kanaan says. CARE Jordan has, for example, developed vocational training courses such as computer and mobile phone repair that brings together Syrian and Jordanian women and men to teach them skills and to encourage social cohesion.
With the UN Commission on the Status of Women taking place in New York this week, CARE is calling for increased attention to the needs of women in emergencies by ensuring that women are given the voice and space to become an active part of the solution. “Agencies too often make assumptions about the capacity and willingness of women to pursue different livelihoods or education opportunities,” says Hamilton. “Women in besieged communities have told our partners that they need fewer tailoring classes and more first aid and disaster response workshops. We need to listen to them.”
“I am a single mother, with three children. I was divorced in 2011, befoe the crisis. I feel lonely, with no mother or brothers here. I don’t have any stability in my life anymore. My husband was a lawyer, but he was not in favor of women working, he did not like me to work. In Jordan, at the beginning, it was very difficult for me. I did not have any communication with others. Only in the second year, I found some opportunity for jobs, and now I’m able to manage our basic needs.” Samia*, 37, from Aleppo now living in Amman, Jordan. Samia teaches English, Arabic as a foreign language, and is learning computer repair at a local organization through CARE’s vocational training. Photo: Mary Kate MacIsaac/CARE
For media inquiries please contact:
Mary Kate MacIsaac, Regional Syria Response Communications Coordinator, (Amman), [email protected] +962 79 711 7414
Mahmoud Shabeeb, Regional Syria Response Communications Officer, (Amman) [email protected] +962 79 7117413