SYRIA: Zabadani women break social taboos in their conservative community by joining the protest movement with creative banners and songs, an amateur video shows

Record ID: 280195

  • Title: SYRIA: Zabadani women break social taboos in their conservative community by joining the protest movement with creative banners and songs, an amateur video shows
  • Date: 4th February 2012
  • Summary: WOMEN MARCHING DURING NIGHT TIME PROTEST IN ZABADANI MORE OF THE PROTEST MARCHING AND WOMEN SAYING: "Here in Zabadani, we have joined protests from the beginning. The women joined the protests from the start, they took part everyday, sometimes we used to go out alone, we wanted to prove the existence of women in Zabadani because the women had proved themselves elsewhere a
  • Embargoed: 19th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict,Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVABQWUH6E9492GMS7I1K8IYZHDT
  • Story Text: Women in the Syrian town of Zabadani are actively taking part in the protest movement against President Bashar al-Assad -- overcoming not just the security crackdown, but also social restrictions in the conservative Muslim community, an amateur video shows.
    ''When we first came out to protest, we were just a handful of women, not more. And we were heavily criticised by the people, especially men, and many women as well criticised us -- the same women who are now joining us in the protests,'' said one young woman who showed only her hands to conceal her identity.
    From sewing flags to sketching cartoons and drawing up slogans for banners, to writing lyrics for protest songs, women in this mountain town near Damascus have become an invaluable asset to the uprising.
    Together the women of Zabadani huddle around in the living room at one of their homes to share stories and ideas and to work.
    ''Our fathers did not choose and we in turn did not choose our rulers but it is our right to struggle so that our children have the right to choose who rules them. This was our principle from the beginning, this is why we went out in the protests, so our children have the chance for something better than what we had,'' said another woman who covered her face with a veil.
    The uprising in Syria began in March and thousands of people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces. The government says it is fighting ''armed gangs'' and ''terrorists.'' Thousands of soldiers have defected and joined the loosely-formed Free Syria Army. The uprising is escalating into a conflict.
    But in the living room of that home in Zabadani, the mood is happy and defiant.
    One woman sewing the pre-Baath era flag used by protesters as the national flag said she had to buy each colour of the flag from a different textile shop to avoid the attention of possible Assad supporters who might notify the security forces about her.
    The protesters' flag -- knitted as a bracelet -- has become trendy for students and is even being sold in the markets, one teacher activist said.
    ''Because Zabadani is now liberated, even the market dynamic is different now,'' she said.
    Another creative way to take part in the protest was to put beans in empty plastic bottles to shake them to go along with the chants in the protests.
    The lyrics to one popular song have been rewritten to reflect the mood of the uprising. The new song goes: ''The security forces have shot me and killed me, there was a raid at our house and they took me to the intelligence. Even if they cut me to pieces and threw me at the wall, I will not leave the path of freedom...'' Outside in the protest at night, one woman activist says they are even ready to take up arms.
    ''Women joined the protests from the start, they took part everyday, sometimes we used to go out alone, we wanted to prove the existence of women in Zabadani because the women had proved themselves elsewhere and in other times, and she is playing a very big role in the revolution. She is the mother, she is the one who sews, who cooks and in the end she is a revolutionary and if they let her carry arms, she would,'' she said as we walked behind other women in the protest.
    Because Zabadani managed in January to fend off a direct military crackdown, many protesters have declared the town close to the capital Damascus as ''free''.
    And that is why in Zabadani the protests are festive and the protesters feel triumphant. Not without the women's help, one man says.
    ''The participation of women in Zabadani was great, they made us stronger and they encouraged us more and the protests grew because of them,'' he said.
    As he said that, fireworks broke out in the sky to celebrate the reprieve from the government's crackdown.
    One protester carried a cartoon of Assad drawn by the women of Zabadani. It showed Assad chewing on an olive branch with the slogan: ''Assad's breakfast meal.'' The cartoon pokes fun at Assad's recent address in which he extolled the advantages of being an olive-producing country.
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