Introduction
Syrian women sheltering in countries surrounding Syria, or undertaking the long and perilous journey to Europe with their children, are faced with intolerable choices. As they yearn for safety, dangers are ever-present; while exiled in camps, travelling, and anxiously waiting to cross borders.
Forced from their homes by fear of being caught up in conflict, of their children being conscripted by forces aligned with both the regime and the opposition, and under increasing pressure from religious fanaticism, women constantly face new and unforeseen challenges.
Of primary concern is the fact that women are increasingly acting as heads of households, with added responsibilities.
Their men have either headed abroad before them, or been killed in conflict. So, they shoulder the burden of keeping themselves and their children safe, trapped in a humanitarian challenge the world would rather ignore. They are invisible victims in one of the greatest displacements of people the world has seen.
Too often, these women feel neither empowered nor treated with greater respect as they take on additional responsibilities. Too many suffer in silence.
This report aims to provide a brief insight into the challenges and pressures that Syrian refugee women face. It also hints at the amazing resilience of many Syrian women refugees who are taking on additional roles, over and above those they already carry.