Peace-building project supports Syrian refugee women

Syrian refugee women in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt are receiving help through a new project to prepare them to play an active role in achieving reconciliation and establishing social peace.

The two-year project, launched August 3rd by the Italian Embassy in Lebanon and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), also serves vulnerable women and girls in host communities.

It aims to empower Syrian refugee women and others to play an effective role in improving their lives, advocating for their rights, participating in peace-building processes and contributing towards building their local communities.

Forty-five women will receive training on how to raise awareness in their communities about international and national frameworks governing women's rights, peace and security, and how to identify immediate and post-conflict recovery needs.

The Italian government has pledged six million euros ($6.8 million) to the initiative, including 200,000 euros ($228,000) for projects implemented by ESCWA, through September 2020.

ESCWA Centre for Women director Mehrinaz al-Awadi said the project was launched to address profound complexities in the region pertaining to women's issues, peace and security.

"Many Arab countries are experiencing conflict, political unrest and instability, which increases the number of women whose rights are violated," she said.

"The ESCWA Centre for Women is conducting analytical studies to assess the economic and social status of women in these countries," she said.

The findings are being used "to support women whose livelihoods and security have been [adversely] affected", she added.

Strengthening women's resilience

ESCWA designed a project to empower Syrian refugee women and marginalised women in host countries and help them become more effective in advocating for their rights, al-Awadi said.

The women will learn how to identify and communicate their practical and strategic needs to decision-makers, and will receive technical support to design and lead advocacy campaigns.

Capacity-building programmes offered to refugee women also teach them how to increase their resilience in times of crisis and in the aftermath of traumatic events, she said, and "enhance their leadership and conflict management skills".

Half of the 45 women who are expected to participate in the project are Syrian refugees residing in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, while the other half are marginalized women in those countries, al-Awadi said.

Promoting peace and reconciliation

According to the Italian Embassy, the project seeks to support the role of women in the reconciliation process and their participation in the establishment of peace, given the responsibilities they shoulder in their communities.

Italy "supports this type of project in various regions in the world, as there are women who are active and aware of their role in contributing to stability in countries experiencing acute crises, as is the case today in Syria", it said.

This type of initiative "aims to empower Syrian women and provide them with the tools to serve reconciliation and advocate for their rights", said Syrian activist and journalist Mohammed Hassan, who resides in Lebanon.

"We are counting on the women and children after eight years of the Syrian war," he told Al-Mashareq. "We are counting on women who have proven their worth through suffering as refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs)."

"Syrian women possess tremendous capabilities, and all they need is the right opportunity for societies to allow them to be of service to our society," he said.

Alleviating difficult circumstances

Syrian refugee women in Lebanon "are exposed to all the dangers that women encounter under the circumstances of displacement and war", writer and journalist Sanaa al-Jack told Al-Mashareq.

The initiative "is characterized by continuity, ensuring that it will yield fruitful results for Syrian women and the communities to which they belong", she said.

Syrian women in Lebanon "are characterized by having an almost superhuman ability to cope with poverty and need", she said.

Those who work in refugee camps or refugee gathering places in Lebanon "have noticed this ability to work to put food on the table, improve their living conditions and cope with their daily burdens", she said.