delegation of women from NE, Syria participated in a women's conference in Lebanon

A delegation of women from North and East Syria joined the Newroz Cultural Association in Lebanon at the conference "Women's Solidarity – A Force to Eliminate Violence and Discrimination Against Women and Girls," organized by the Women's Platform in Lebanon, coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The conference included four parallel sessions addressing systems of violence in Lebanon:

The first session discussed domestic and social violence, focusing on mechanisms for protection, psychological support, and legal assistance.

The second session addressed gender-based violence in crises, linking it to the repercussions of the Beirut Port Explosion on women.

The third session focused on political violence, presenting feminist experiences from the perspectives of negotiation and confrontation.

The fourth session addressed violence against organizations and associations, highlighting attempts to restrict them and strategies for resilience and civil networking.

In the workshop on political violence, Fawza Yousef, a member of the Presidential Council of the Democratic Union Party, spoke about the experience of Kurdish women within the negotiating delegation with the Syrian transitional government. She argued that political violence does not always take an overt form, but rather begins with psychological pressure, moral threats, isolation, and attempts to break the will of women participating in decision-making.

She emphasized that women's presence at the negotiating table is not a mere symbolic detail, but a fundamental element linking societal security and rights. She added that the challenges women face in politics reflect a mindset that seeks to exclude them from the public sphere. However, she stressed that the Kurdish experience has proven that women's insistence on participation transforms negotiations into an arena of political struggle, not a place of submission.

In the workshop on violence against associations and organizations, Nawroz Othman, head of the Women's Committee of the Newroz Cultural Association, delivered a presentation emphasizing that violence targeting organizations is no less dangerous than violence targeting individuals. It begins with smear campaigns, hostile rhetoric, and obstruction of fieldwork, culminating in attempts to restrict funding, activities, and advocacy.

She explained that women's civil society organizations in Lebanon face practices aimed at silencing their voices because they generate real political and social influence. She concluded that protecting women's organizations is protecting women's role in bringing about change.

She concluded by stating that the Nawroz Association believes that building alliances is the strongest response to any form of organized violence, and that the resilience of associations is the first step towards dismantling the system of discrimination.

The conference is one of the most prominent activities of the platform, which comprises 48 feminist organizations and activists. It operates independently with a reformist vision that combines advocacy, recovery, and reconstruction from a gender perspective. UN Women Lebanon provides coordination, technical support, and logistical assistance to ensure the platform's sustainability and impact. The conference is part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

The event was held at Metropolis Cinema, which was transformed for a full day into a space for feminist dialogue and exchange of experiences between the local Lebanese experience and regional and international experiences, emphasizing that confronting violence against women requires a joint political, social, and organizational effort.

ANHA