Hîlala Zêrîn Movement for Women's Cultural condemns killing of artist Diala Al-Wadi in Damascus

Syrian artist Diala Salhi Al-Wadi was found murdered in her home in Damascus on August 3.

In response to her death, the Hîlala Zêrîn Movement for Women's Cultural issued a statement in front of its center in Qamishlo, with members of the movement in attendance. The statement was read in Arabic by member Shirin Rashid and in Kurdish by member Dilva Zoro.

At the beginning of the statement, the movement pointed out that the Syrian people, who once hoped to live in safety and peace after the fall of the Ba’ath regime, now find themselves again trapped in the same cycle of war. They explained that hope has turned into fear, chaos, and a violation of the rights of all ethnic and religious groups, whether Alawite, Druze, Kurdish, or Sunni, noting that all Syrian communities have become targets of crimes committed by extremist groups operating under the umbrella of the transitional government in Syria.

The statement highlighted a series of violations against Syrians and Syrian culture, including the silencing of music, the tearing down of theater curtains, and the burning of cinemas, not to mention the escalating killings that have turned Syria into a country lacking freedom and marginalizing the voices of its communities without deterrent or legal accountability.

It also drew attention to the horrific crimes and violations that have taken place in the Syrian coast and Sweida, affecting both young and old, men and women. These heinous crimes, the statement said, aim to silence the voice of truth and art, and are crimes against humanity and clear violations of the values of democracy and justice.

The Hîlala Zêrîn Movement declared its strongest condemnation of the crimes being committed against Syrian women, regardless of their nationality, religion, or ethnicity, including sexual assaults, killings, looting, and theft, under any pretext. It affirmed that the murder of theater artist Diala Al-Wadi, along with the earlier killing of violinist Ghina Hilal, and many other women, are horrific crimes against humanity and against all forms of democracy, justice, and equality.

At the end of the statement, the movement called on the transitional government, which claims to uphold justice, to hold the perpetrators of these war crimes accountable, both against the people and against Syrian women. It also urged the government to fulfill its duty of protecting the safety and rights of all citizens, including intellectuals, artists, doctors, politicians, and laborers.

The statement concluded by emphasizing the need for the voice of art and culture to prevail over the sound of bullets and mortars.

Participants ended the event with chants expressing deep solidarity with all Syrian women. They shouted slogans such as:

“Together in solidarity against all forms of violence and extermination”, “Together toward a free, democratic, decentralized Syria”, “Together for a free life with women”, “No to femicide, no to cultural and physical extermination”, “Woman, Life, Freedom”. 

A-H 

ANHA