Study in Qamishlo: Women express growing concerns over rights, protection

The Rojava Center for Research on the Protection of Women’s and Children’s Rights conducted the study, which was published by the Kongra Star on its official website Saturday. The study included in-person interviews with around 600 women in the Jodi, Hililiye, Qadour Bek, Antarieh, Corniche and Arbouiye neighborhoods, with approximately 100 women interviewed in each neighborhood. The center said it also conducted field outreach with more than 1,000 women to hear about their problems, concerns and the difficulties they face in their daily lives.

The center said that the Kongra Star and women’s houses in the neighborhoods helped facilitate access to women and conduct the interviews.

Concerns Over Political and Legal Changes

According to the study’s findings, most participating women believe that society has undergone major changes in recent years amid rising living costs and worsening economic difficulties, alongside uncertainty over the future of women under Syria’s new political and legal framework.

A significant proportion of participants said that political changes over the past year, including the fall of the Baath regime and the arrival of a new authority, had, in their view, increased some men’s sense of relief while heightening women’s feelings of fear and insecurity.

The study links these concerns to the future of women’s institutions and organizations and the intervention mechanisms established in recent years. The women said the presence of these institutions had played an important role in deterring violence and strengthening their sense of protection.

Post-2014: Changes in Women’s Status

The study identifies 2014 as a turning point in the understanding of women’s rights in North and East Syria, with the adoption of a women’s law and the establishment of women’s institutions, women’s houses and intervention mechanisms for cases of violence and family disputes, alongside awareness and organizing programs targeting both women and men.

According to the study’s assessment, these measures helped strengthen women’s self-confidence and foster a sense that they were not alone in confronting violence. They also sent a message to men that violence could result in legal consequences and measures.

The study highlights the role of institutions including the Women’s House, the Women’s Internal Security Forces (Asayish), Sara Organization and the Kongra Star in intervening in cases of violence and preventing such cases from remaining within the family and outside the reach of specialized institutions.

240 Requests Received by Women’s Houses in Six Months

According to the study, data from the Women’s Houses in Qamishlo provide an indication of the types of problems women faced during 2026.

From the beginning of January until midyear, Women’s Houses in Qamishlo received 240 cases and requests. Of these, 109 were resolved, while 30 cases were referred to court.

A total of 153 requests concerned disputes between women and men, particularly cases of violence against women and family problems, while other requests were related to economic and living difficulties and the tensions they cause within families. The same period also saw five requests related to polygamy.

The study notes that these figures do not necessarily represent separate categories, as a single case may involve multiple factors, such as financial problems, marital disputes and violence.

The study considers the low number of requests related to polygamy noteworthy when compared with the period before 2014, when Women’s Houses reportedly received larger numbers of requests concerning the issue.

The center stresses that the five requests do not mean that only five cases of polygamy exist in society, but rather reflect the number of requests received by the Women’s House during the six-month period under review.

Economic Crisis Increases Family Vulnerability

The interviews showed that the economic crisis is a common source of concern among women amid rising fuel, food and basic-needs prices, as well as unemployment and loss of income.

The study argues that financial pressures are not the sole cause of violence against women, but may increase tension and conflict within families, particularly for women who are financially dependent on men.

The study points out that a lack of independent income can make it more difficult for a woman to leave a home where she is experiencing violence or begin an independent life with her children, meaning that, from the participants’ perspective, the economic crisis is also linked to safety and personal freedom.

War and Migration Compound Pressures

The study also links women’s circumstances to the broader conditions facing society, particularly the years-long war, displacement and migration, economic losses and uncertainty about the future.

The study argues that the accumulation of these factors, along with family problems and living pressures, can lead to increased psychological and social stress, while women and children may face greater risks under certain circumstances.

Constitutional Declaration Raises Questions About the Future of Rights

The study identifies political and legal changes in Syria as among the main sources of concern for participating women.

On March 13, 2025, Syria’s Constitutional Declaration was adopted. According to the study, it provides for the protection of equality among citizens and women’s rights, while also recognizing Islamic jurisprudence as one of the main sources of legislation.

The study says this raises questions about the future of legislation concerning family matters, marriage, divorce, child protection and personal status, particularly as the new legal system has not yet been fully established and it remains unclear how the gains that the study says women have achieved since 2014 will be preserved.

The study says women do not necessarily describe the current situation as a return to the previous system, but they fear the return of some forms of inequality that existed before 2014, including polygamy, child marriage and women’s weaker legal status within the family.

Rumors Fuel Uncertainty

The study also points to the spread of concerns and rumors within society about the future of women’s participation in public life, their movement, clothing and the nature of relations between men and women in public spaces.

The study stresses that these claims have not been implemented, but argues that their spread itself reflects a state of anxiety among women, particularly amid uncertainty over which rights will be protected in the future.

Women’s Representation in Decision-Making Institutions

The concerns identified by the study are not limited to social and legal issues but also extend to political participation.

According to the study, Syria’s current parliament in 2026 has 210 seats, of which women occupy 21. The study considers this an indicator of women’s limited representation in political and legal decision-making processes that will shape the country’s future.

The study notes that women’s rights issues are no longer confined to Qamishlo and its surrounding areas but have also become part of the broader public debate in Damascus. In December 2024, the capital witnessed demonstrations attended by hundreds of people calling for secular governance and equal rights between the sexes.

Concerns Extend Beyond Violence to Loss of Rights

The study concludes that violence against women cannot, in its view, be separated from the surrounding economic, social and political conditions, including poverty, unemployment, war, migration, patriarchal social structures and women’s legal status.

It also considers that women’s institutions and laws established since 2014 have helped raise women’s awareness of their rights and provide mechanisms for intervention and protection.

However, according to the study, the concerns expressed by participating women center on a broader question about the future: Will women retain the legal, social and organizational gains achieved in recent years, and will existing institutions and protection mechanisms remain capable of performing their role?

According to the study’s findings, women’s primary concern is not only the possibility of experiencing violence, but also the possibility of losing rights or seeing the institutional protection mechanisms on which they have come to rely weakened. 

A-H 

ANHA