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| Divorced Women Abandoned In Syria’s Raqqa Camps |
| 2023-02-22 |
| [NPASyria] From sunrise, Rahma and her two sons who live in a makeshift camp in Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria, go to work after her husband abandoned her five years ago. Rahma al-Hamoud, 28, a displaced woman (IDP) in the al-Yunani makeshift camp south of Raqqa on the right bank of the Euphrates River, said her husband divorced her five years ago and left her and the children alone in the camp. Al-Hamoud, a mother of four, suffers like the rest of the divorced women in the camp from the absence of a breadwinner amid difficult displacement conditions. The divorced women support their families by depending on themselves and working as daily laborers in farmlands and collecting plastic and aluminum to sell to recycling factories. Al-Hamoud added that she works for 8.000 Syrian Pounds (SYP, about $1.14) per day in case work is available, which is still not enough to cover the family’s expenses amid rising prices and difficult living conditions. In order to increase her daily income, Rahma has to send her eldest eight-year-old son to work in a mechanics workshop and send the other with the rest of the children in the camp to gather "plastic bags and empty bottles to sell them." At the same time, she fears for her children, "I worry about him when he is away from the camp, sometimes he returns late, but what can I do; we are in a difficult situation." The number of makeshift camps in Raqqa is 62, the majority of which are within residential communities or on the outskirts of villages and agricultural fields. BOUND BY PAPER ONLY Many women suffer from taking all the responsibility of caring for a family, whether providing food or medicine in case of a sickness, not to mention doing the household chores. The suffering is not limited to women divorced by their husbands officially or according to Islamic law. Samar al-Abdullah, 35, is facing difficulties providing for her children in the camp. Al-Abdullah said her husband abandoned her and her children, "Although he lives in the same camp, however we are only connected by a marriage contract." "My husband does not support us with anything. I am forced to work to provide for my children," she added. According to al-Abdullah, there are many women abandoned by their husbands without an official divorce who work to fulfill their children’s needs. North Press reached out to officials in Zenobia Women Assembly — a feminist organization active in AANES-held areas that aims at organizing women politically, economically and socially — to obtain the number of officially divorced women and those abandoned by husbands but it did not provide any information. Siham al-Ukla, an official in Twaihina camp west of Raqqa, said they only have a statistic of widows and divorced women in the al-Mahmoudli camp, which is 87 divorced women and 265 widows. Al-Abdullah, similar to the rest of the women in the camp, is forced to work to make a living for her children amid difficult economic and living conditions. She is forced to work for a low wage, and many times she borrows money to buy necessities leading her to ration food so she can pay her debts. SECOND WIFE In the same camp, Khawla al-Hussein, 34, lives with her four daughters in a small tent a few meters away from her husband’s tent, which he lives in with his first wife. She said although she is still married to her husband, however, he has abandoned his responsibilities towards his daughters and her and prefers his first wife. Al-Hussein had to work four years ago when her husband decided to no longer support the family, "He left us and does not acknowledge us, whereas expenses are too high." When asked why her husband does not support the family, she said, "because I am the second wife, and he is not able to provide for two families." |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #1 The West has infant drop off locations. Dar al Islam has wife drop off locations. |
| Posted by: mossomo 2023-02-22 12:44 |