​​​​​​Regional women's conference discusses repercussions of international system's interventions on women

The first session of the Conference on the Women's Movements Experiences, held on Friday and Saturday, ended in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on guidance"by slogans of: Women - Life - Freedom", in the presence of 80 activists from 10 Arab and African countries (Tunisia, Jordan, Iraq, Sudan, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Turkey and Iran), and a delegation from NE Syria and Şengal.

At the opening of the first session of the conference, which was moderated by the President of the "Women and Leadership" Association, Sana Ghanima, and the President of the "Wardat Boutros - Equality in Women's Work" Association, Dr. Mary Debs, spoke about the uprising of the Arab peoples and its causes, the impact of external interventions on Arab women, and how the "Arab Spring" transformed to fall.

Dr. Mary Debs said: "The progressive democratic forces could not confront the counter-revolution, because they lived most of their time in prisons, in addition to the fragmentation among them".

She added, "After 12 years, the conditions of women in the Arab world differ from one country to another, but the strategic solution remains to abolish personal statuses that are based on sectarianism, and to put civil laws in their place".

For her part, the vice president of the Jin Women's Association, Bushra Ali, spoke about the impact of Kurdish women on this crisis in a homeland divided by colonial policies.

Bushra Ali said, "The biggest victim in these conflicts and the repercussions of the regime's policies is women, and Kurdish women suffer double".

For her part, founding member of the National Front for Egyptian Women to defend Egyptian women's rights and Arab issues, Karima al-Hefnawi, spoke about the situation of African women in a continent that is the major victim of all the crises in the region.

Karima said, "Women in Africa have been subjected to violations, including discrimination and physical and sexual violence, noting that 125 million girls under the age of 18 are married".

She added that one out of 3 girls are subjected to physical and sexual violence, and that six African countries do not have a law to protect women against domestic violence.

The conference of women's experiences was launched in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, today, under the slogan "On guidance: Women - Life - Freedom", organized by the Jin Women's Association, the Newroz Cultural and Social Association, and the Noun Initiative for Ocalan's Freedom.

Sh-S

ANHA