It’s time we started talking about and showing up for the forgotten women of Syria’s prisons

Living in the West, it can be easy to forget the horrors of life outside a safe, secure society. Although it seems to have left our headlines recently, the crisis in Syria is ongoing — and what’s more, it’s only getting worse.

Manchester-based organization Rethink Rebuild Society is holding a thought-provoking exhibition to raise awareness about an especially horrific aspect of life in Syria- imprisonment under Assad’s regime. Whilst most media coverage focuses on the fight against ISIS, the human atrocities committed by Assad are continually overlooked. From barrel bombing to torture in detention centers, Assad’s regime has been responsible for 85 percent of civilian deaths since the revolution of 2011.

The treatment women have faced in these prisons is only just entering the media’s narrative because many were too afraid to have spoken out previously, whilst others did not survive to share their tales. Alma Abdulrahman described the soul-crushing experiences she endured in a rare interview with The Atlantic. Alma recalled how officers would shout “Here’s the freedom you wanted” before taking it in turns to “take their portion” as they repeatedly gang raped her.

In an interview with the BBC, “Farah” described some of the torture she witnessed, “One time they hanged a man from his legs and hands. I tried not to see, but sometimes they hold your face to see. They were pulling the ropes… They split him. Until now I remember his voice shouting, and then suddenly I couldn’t hear anything.”

In their pursuit to raise awareness about the horrors civilians are experiencing in Syria, Rethink Rebuild Society is hosting the exhibition ‘Silenced Voices: Syrian Women in Assad’s prisons on September  8, 2017. The event will take place in Cross Street Chapel, Manchester, UK, from 3pm-8pm and will showcase a combination of posters and written testimonies from women who have escaped the hellish prisons. There will also be an opportunity for attendees to call for action from their Members of Parliment, with RRS providing help writing letters and tweeting politicians.

Asma, a former detainee told babe why she was taking part in the exhibition “I want to cast light on Syrian Prisoners, so the world knows the torture, hardship and brutality that they are going through. I was imprisoned in 2012, and I saw many people die there. My brother was imprisoned in 2014, and to this day we do not know if he is alive. Through this exhibition we wish to show that all we really want in Syria is freedom.”

Education about the treatment received inside these prisons is vital. Since 2011, 75,000 people have been arrested by the government and declared ‘missing’ after being forced into detention, making them even more vulnerable to torture. Over 17,000 prisoners have lost their lives due to the relentless nature of the torture they received.

The women whose stories are featured will be attending the event and available for q-and-a sessions throughout the day to share the horrific realities of their struggles with as many people as possible.

As journalists are forbidden from entering Assad’s detention centers, this event will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to talk directly with victims who experienced this unimaginable torture firsthand.