Empowering Women in Syria

Access to critical and life-saving healthcare is a major issue for women in Syria. Major attacks have destroyed healthcare facilities that provided maternity, pediatric, obstetrics and gynecology services. According to Physicians for Human Rights, more than 320 facilities were attacked between 2011 and June 2017, some multiple times. Women in Syria have very limited access to medical care, and in some cases are unable to access it entirely. An estimated 360,00 women in Syria and 112,800 Syrian refugee women in neighboring countries were pregnant in 2016, according to the United Nations Population Fund. Most did not have access to proper healthcare at childbirth. In November 2017, MFA and its NGO partners helped establish a maternity hospital in a suburb of Quneitra governorate in southwestern Syria. The new hospital has been furnished with beds, x-ray & ultrasound machines, and medical supplies to support services at the facility. It operates with a 24-hour staff that includes doctors, nurses, and administrators.

In just the first 10 days of the hospital's operation, obstetricians delivered nearly 35 newborns. It addresses a critical need for the area of 200,000 people it services. MFA continues to support hospital services by working with its partners to provide medical equipment and supplies. Empowering Syrian women through health is one step in helping them become more independent and in building sustainability in the region. But supporting women's health is not only about facilities that provide healthcare services. It also involves enabling women to become more autonomous. MFA's partner NGO working on the ground in Syrian assists a social support center in a suburb of Homs. The center trains women on how to become more productive and financially independent. The women-led training programs offers instruction in nursing, sewing, English language, and more. Women have taken on more responsibilities since the war began. They have increasingly become heads of households and the only breadwinner in their families. In the midst of the crisis, Syrian women have taken on new strengths, skills, and capacities that have contributed to their family's and community's survival.

This weekend marks the first-year anniversary of the worldwide protest to advocate for women's rights and human rights. In the United States, more than 3 million people marched last year— with more than 500,000 people in Washington D.C. alone. The Women's March was likely the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. This year, we at the Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees march with a focus on advocating for refugee women. Refugee women uniquely experience gender-based violence and poverty during conflict. Women and children make up the majority of Syrian refugees. Join us this Saturday for the New York City march. If you are outside of New York, we encourage you to advocate for refugee women at your local marches. 2017 Women's March on NYC • MFA Group Date: Saturday, January 20th, 2018 Time: 11:00am - 11:15am (rally begins at 11:30am at 72nd Street)

Meet-up Location: TBD *PLEASE RSVP* RSVP: https://goo.gl/forms/Lp36sryMSvfCfmHM2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/167008894073839/