Situation deteriorates for Syrian women and girls

Stories about something that is “still” happening don’t get many eyeballs. But there is no way around what is still happening to Syrian women and girls as the conflict enters its 10^th year, and the United Nations is sounding the alarm.

Since December, about 960,000 Syrians have been displaced, with a total of more than 12 million Syrians now living outside the country as refugees or as internally displaced people. Of those displaced since December, 80 percent are women and children, and 25,000 of those are pregnant, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). The organization said there have been recent “severe disruptions” in reproductive health services and that both child marriage and the risk of gender-based violence are on the rise.

“Millions of women and girls continue to pay a high price for a conflict they had no role in creating,” said Natalia Kanem, executive director of UNFPA. “They will continue to depend on UNFPA and our partners to provide life-saving support until this crisis is over. The sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the dignity and protection of women and girls, are not negotiable.”

UNFPA has had to close seven service delivery points that were helping 13,000 people, “due to the escalated conflict and constrained humanitarian access.” These points offered reproductive health services and “safe spaces that provide life-saving services to women and girls.” And that comes as midwives in Syria are reporting that there has been a serious increase in cases of early deliveries, miscarriages, and low-weight births. Women, they said, are requesting C-sections because they don’t want to have to give birth while on the move in such a volatile and ever-shifting situation.

Not only has access to health services become more scarce, but women are at tremendous risk for diseases like coronavirus—women have historically been hit hardest during Ebola and other outbreaks because they hold traditional caregiving roles.

“During all crises, whether it is the COVID-19 or any other health crisis, women often sacrifice their own health for the health of others,” Luay Shabaneh, UNFPA’s regional director for the Arab States, said. “They give support to older people, to children, to the economic situation of their household. In doing so, they forget to take care of their own health. Therefore, their health should be a priority at all times.”