Grave violations against women in  occupied territories in Syria

Attacks and violence against women continue in Afrin, Serê Kaniyê, Girê Spî, and Manbij in the Autonomous Administration’s North and East Syria, which were occupied by Turkey in 2018, 2019, and 2024.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November), we compiled these violations, including sexual assault, armed attacks, and abductions.

Due to the impossibility of conducting an accurate survey inside the occupied areas, the actual numbers remain unknown; therefore, we share only the information reported to organizations working to combat violence.

According to data documented by the Center for Research and Protection of Women’s Rights, between November 2024 and this 1 November, 25 women were killed, 37 were injured, and 23 were abducted in Afrin, Serê Kaniyê, and Girê Spî.

Speaking about the organization’s findings, the Center’s director, Şirin Jolly, stated:

“Women in these areas are subjected to all forms of violence, particularly in Afrin, where the number of abducted women increases by the day. Detained women are subjected to extreme levels of torture in the prisons. Women in Serê Kaniyê and Girê Spî are also kidnapped, and their fate remains unknown.”

Forced Marriage

Jolly highlighted the situation of Yazidi women in Afrin, noting that armed groups are forcing women to change their religion, wear the hijab, change their names, and enter into forced marriages.

Rise in Suicide Cases

Jolly added that many women in Afrin, Serê Kaniyê, and Girê Spî are suffering psychological disorders due to the violations committed against them, and that suicide cases continue to rise.

She further noted that the organization documents these violations and sends them to various legal and women’s rights bodies, though responses—when they arrive—often come only after long delays.

14 Women Killed and 30 Kidnapped

According to the Afrin branch of the Human Rights Organization, between November of last year and this 1 November alone, 14 women were killed in Afrin, 22 were injured due to violence, and 30 women were kidnapped, with their fate still unknown.

According to the Human Rights Organization in Syria, between January and September of this year: In Jazira Canton, two women were martyred in drone strikes.

In Euphrates Canton, two women were martyred by drone strikes, and one woman by shelling. In Manbij, 19 women were martyred in drone attacks, armed assaults, and explosions. In Afrin, seven women were martyred due to armed attacks or suicide. Four women were injured by shelling in Jazira Canton. Three women were injured in the Euphrates Canton by drone strikes and ground shelling. Thirty-six women were injured in Manbij due to drone strikes and explosions.Three women were injured in Afrin by armed attacks.

These attacks, including drone strikes, artillery shelling, and air raids, were carried out by the Turkish occupying state.

Since last November and December, two women in Afrin were injured in an armed attack; three women were martyred and two injured in shelling in Manbij; two women in Manbij were martyred in armed attacks; one woman was martyred in a drone attack; and another woman was abducted. In Kobani, two women were martyred by ground shelling and two by drone strikes; in Ain Issa, drone strikes killed two women.

The Center for Research and Protection of Women’s Rights was established in 2020 to document violations committed against women. It has branches in Qamishlo, Hasaka, Raqqa, Tabqa, and Kobani, as well as an office in Brussels, Belgium.

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ANHA