The protests taking place in Syria over the past two months have not been carried out exclusively by men. Women have also played an important role, Bassel Oudat reports from Damascus While the Syrian authorities have described the anti-regime protests that have swept the country over the past two months as being organised by Salafis or terrorist groups, they have not been exclusively carried out by men. Syrian women have also played a prominent role, confirmed on Saturday when the Syrian army and security forces raided the coastal city of Banyas where daily demonstrations have been taking place for more than a month. The city's women came out in force to protest against the detention of sons and male relatives arrested during the raids. Four women were killed on the coastal road, adding to the 1,000 or so civilians killed since the demonstrations began in the southern city of Daraa on 16 March, according to human rights organisations. This is not the first time that the women of Banyas have undertaken such protests. On 13 April, more than 5,000 women and children went on strike near the village of Al-Bayda, this becoming famous after a clip was broadcast on satellite TV showing security forces in civilian clothes assaulting the demonstrators. In the recent demonstrations, rural women marched to the city of Banyas, blocking the main coastal road, in order to demand the release of hundreds of detainees from their villages, snatched during a security campaign by Syrian forces days earlier. The women declared their solidarity with the besieged city of Banyas, and the protesters did not disperse until they had secured a promise that their relatives would be released. Two days before the protests, Syrian security forces dispersed a crowd that included dozens of women whose relatives had been detained in ministry of interior buildings in Damascus. They women protesters carried pictures of male relatives who had gone on hunger strike ten days earlier, and they carried placards demanding the release of all political prisoners, the lifting of the emergency laws and the introduction of greater freedoms. The women were joined by a number of male relatives of the detainees, and the security forces then violently interceded to disperse the crowd irrespective of the women's presence. Some women protesters were detained, and these later went on hunger strike at Duma Women's Prison, forcing the authorities to release them on bail until they are put on trial on charges of "undermining the state." Syrian activists have created Facebook pages that have attracted thousands of visitors calling for protests in solidarity with female detainees whose relatives are political prisoners. The deployment of security personnel wearing black uniforms, snipers on rooftops, and armoured personnel carriers cruising the streets also did not prevent the women of the town of Darya near Damascus from marching to demand an end to the siege of Daraa on 25 April. On 1 May, around 50 women went on strike at the Al-Salihiya Market in central Damascus in support of Daraa, the cradle of the anti-regime protests. The protesters included actresses, writers and media personalities, as well as ordinary women demanding freedom for women in Daraa. The women came from all walks of life and a variety of sects. They included Muslims and Christians, veiled and non-veiled, and religious and secular women. All of them raised banners proclaiming, "No to violence," "No to killing," and "Lift the siege on the children of Daraa." Syrian security forces dispersed the gathering, confiscating cameras from people close to the strike to prevent images filtering out to the outside world. Several women were arrested, while others were beaten or insulted. "We are not Salafis, and we are not violating the constitution," said actress Fadwa Suleiman, who participated in the protest. "Protests are a legitimate right." Despite the arrests, three times as many protesters regrouped at the same location two days later, and several further arrests were made. In Daraa, which has witnessed the bloodiest confrontations in the country over the past two months, women have taken to the streets to confront the security forces. Since the city is under siege and closed to the media, protests have been filmed by activists and smuggled out. These show that women from Daraa and surrounding villages have taken part in the demonstrations on an almost daily basis, demanding an end to the siege and the release of political detainees. Covering the head is a traditional rather than a religious statement in this region of southern Syria, but many women did not wear a headscarf during the demonstrations and appeared bare-headed. Video clips smuggled out of the city show women from Daraa bidding farewell to their martyred sons with ululations rather than tears, insisting that the lives of their sons have been sacrificed for freedom. Women in Syria have not only been active in the demonstrations. They have also played an important role in promoting political and human rights. Female political activists have had a critical role to play in promoting the demands of the Syrian people and explaining the goals of Syrian protesters by appearing on Arab and non-Arab news channels. Meanwhile, female human rights activists have documented violations carried out by the security forces and female lawyers have worked on behalf of the protesters and to document human rights abuses. Last week, Syrian actresses and women writers issued a "statement of solidarity with the children of Daraa," also signed by their male counterparts. Signatories to the statement included actresses Mona Wassef, Kenda Aloush, Yara Sabri and Azza Al-Bahra, as well as director Rasha Sharbotgui and writers Rima Folayhan, Yom Mashhadi and others. The statement demanded an end to the siege of Daraa and the freeing of its children, "who cannot possibly be involved in sectarian plots. The children of Daraa are hungry, and they need food and medicine." In response, the state-controlled media launched a campaign to slander the signatories to the appeal, while Syrian film producers, also under orders, said they would boycott the signatories, describing the statement as a "a hostile political act couched in humanitarian terms with the aim of impugning Syria's image." Before the present protests began, women in Syria had not participated in political demonstrations for a long time, any protests usually taking place within the framework of the Syrian General Women's Union (GWU), overseen by the authorities. The GWU is the only existing organisation of its kind, the government having disbanded women's organisations affiliated to other political parties. Most rallies sponsored by the GWU are in support of the regime, and the organisation rarely makes social demands. The Syrian authorities claim that the protests currently sweeping the country are part of a foreign plot to foster sectarian strife in country, and they insist that Salafist elements are responsible for carrying out violent acts and instigating the protests. However, the Syrian women taking part in the protests have emphasised that they do not belong to any political group. Rather, they seek the freedom that has long been denied to all, men and women alike.
