“Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers, especially Syrian mothers”; we hear it every March 21st, in an effort to bring some smiles onto the face of our mothers, for their A+ maternity efforts & unconditional love. But in the face of hypocrisy, I get angry.
As Syrians fled to foreign lands, it was there that the curse of Syrian motherhood blasted full force & the spotlight was shed on our institutionalized marginalization of women. Stuck at home, with no familiar community to bond with, often with incomplete/unworthy educational experiences in their adopted homes, diaspora, migrant/refugee Syrian mothers find themselves isolated from the world, unable to return to their home country, unable to connect with others, paralyzed as they realize they were never empowered/supported to live independently. They’re left financially dependent on their spouse, with no meaning in life except the never-ending role of housekeeping & care for others. Of course, this isn’t the case for all Syrian mothers, as we’ve heard of countless Syrian women/mothers who have amazed us in many ways, but our community faces a crisis.
With over 191,000 Syrian refugees in Sweden, for example, only 23% of women had attained a secondary educational level & that number decreases with post-secondary education (Statistics Sweden). Syria ranked 125th/187 in the Gender Inequality Index in 2013 (UNDP). Furthermore, in 2013, it was estimated that the secondary school enrolment rate for girls in Syria was up to 43% (UNU). Today’s numbers would be hair-raising, as we hear of more gender-based violence, homelessness, a lost generation & women working in any condition for the sake of their livelihoods due to the failing economy. In 2020, The World Bank estimated that 1 of 5 Syrian women are part of the labor force, similar to other Arabic speaking nations, but surprisingly (sadly), better than many of them.
“Actions speak louder than words”, so how can we wish our Syrian mothers a Happy Mother’s Day when such is their reality? As many stupidly state that “women in our country today have their rights”, think, what are we doing as Syrians for our women & mothers?
Over the past decade, a lot of attention has been directed towards Syria, the beating heart of the Middle East, which embodies a complex human story as it fights to
Categories Culture and Heritage Social Issues Society I Dream I Dream of the Day I Cross the Levant on a Borderless Trip Like my Grandparents did I have always wanted
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