Syrian Women Still Fighting for Ceasefire in Zabadani

We recently wrote about 470 brave Syrian women who risked their lives to publicly sign a statement demanding an end to the siege of their city, Zabadani. For the past few months, citizens of Zabadani have been relentlessly attacked with airstrikes and barrel bombs, unable to leave or to receive aid.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof highlighted the boldness of these women in his September 10 column:

“I’m shaken by pleas I’ve seen from women in the besieged Syrian city of Zabadani, which for months has been surrounded by forces supporting the government. They fear that if the government forces take Zabadani, there will be massacres.

So hundreds of women in Zabadani have signed a statement calling for a cease-fire, international protection and evacuation of the wounded. They bravely use their names, despite the risk that they will be murdered or raped if the city falls.”

The US State Department also praised the women of Zabadani, saying that they “support their efforts to bring stability and respect for human rights to their community.”

Along with the statement, the women have gathered nearly 3,000 signatures from women throughout Syria who stand in solidarity with them. This is just the latest example of women risking it all to end the conflict and restore dignity to the people of Syria. As global outrage builds in the face of increasingly desperate waves of refugees, these women remind us that we must do more than address the humanitarian catastrophe. The only sustainable solution is to stop the horrific violence driving Syrians to flee their homes in the first place. And in that effort, women—like these brave leaders in Zabadani—are our greatest allies.

Inclusive Security trains women peacebuilders like those mentioned above throughout Syria. For more information on our work, click here.

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