Empowering Survived Women from Violence and Detention

The full title of the project is “Empowering Survived Women from Violence and Detention, and Women Leaders in Social and Political Participation, with the Support of Women’s Centers and Networks, and Integrating them with Civil Society to be in Decision-Making Positions Locally and Internationally in Northwestern Syria.” It is funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) and runs under EPISA’s Active Women for Development (AWFD) program.

Objectives

• Enhance the skills of women working in feminist initiatives and women’s empowerment networks in areas such as democratic dialogue, conflict resolution and community participation.
• Foster a collaborative environment among feminist movements, connecting them nationally and internationally.
• Advocate for greater participation of Syrian women at political and societal levels through women’s centers.

Targets

• Empower 150 girls and women to participate effectively in local and international decision-making.
• Form 20 women’s centers, initiatives and networks in northwestern Syria.
• Win a positive response from more than three international organizations to the advocacy messages.
• Support at least five women to take part in international women’s conferences.

What was delivered

• Launch and information sessions. Three sessions in Idlib, Maarat Masrin and Kafr Takharim with 27 women’s teams and organizations.
• Needs assessment. The needs of 20 women’s teams were assessed in the three locations.
• Capacity-building workshops. Strategic planning, leadership, communication, dialogue management and advocacy preparation for the 20 teams.
• Advocacy papers. Four issues concerning Syrian women were chosen by the teams’ representatives, and EPISA helped prepare an advocacy paper on each.
• Sub-grants. Three initiatives from six women’s teams received sub-grants. The teams advocated for each other in joint workshops, forming the nucleus of a women’s development network.
• Forums. Five forums were held in Idlib, Maarat Masrin and Kafr Takharim. The concluding forum took place in Idlib on 28 February 2024 with 41 representatives of local organizations and women’s volunteer teams.