Women in Syria's Raqqa Enjoy Newfound Freedoms after Islamic State
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WASHINGTON - Women in the Syrian city of Raqqa say
their lifestyle drastically changed after U.S.-backed forces freed
their city from the Islamic State terror group.
The Syrian Democratic Forces liberated the city in October 2017.
Since then, Raqqa residents have been determined to bring a sense of
normalcy back to their city, which was once the de facto capital of IS's
self-proclaimed caliphate.
Throughout the partially restored market in downtown Raqqa, shops
selling women's clothing and cosmetics now openly showcase their
merchandise, something unthinkable during IS rule.
"Now, I can exhibit anything I want in front of my store," said a 37-year-old man who owns a women's boutique.
"When Daesh was here, we had to hide things like revealing clothes
and lingerie in the back of the store. Men couldn't sell these things to
women, so we had to hire women to sell to other women," he told VOA,
using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
Under IS rule, strict social codes were imposed on the local
population. Men and women who were not related weren't allowed to
interact.
Women, in particular, were required to wear black dresses covering
their entire bodies and faces. Those who disobeyed received harsh
punishments, including imprisonment and flogging.
"I remember how my friend's older sister was humiliated on the street
by two female IS members because they thought her face wasn't covered
properly," said a 21-year-old woman who was a teenager when IS ruled
Raqqa. She declined to be identified for security reasons.
A women's boutique in downtown Raqqa, Syria. July 11, 2019. (Courtesy Anya Ahmad)The
terror group had established a vice police force, locally known as
al-Hisbah, whose sole mission was to implement Islamic laws and
persecute those who did not adhere to them.
"There is no comparison between now and then," said Khitam al-Musa, 30, of Raqqa.
"At least now, I can walk on the street freely. I can buy what I
want. In the past, I could have been arrested for the silliest reason,"
she told VOA. "I was taken to interrogation a few times because I
painted my fingernails and wore open-toe sandals. It was unbearable to
be a woman under [IS] rule."
The SDF, a Kurdish-led military alliance that has been an effective
partner of the United States in the fight against IS, has established a
progressive governing system in areas under its control in northeast
Syria.
Women's rights and gender equality are the basis of SDF's newly formed entity, SDF officials claim.
Women's clothes displayed at a shopping mall in Raqqa, Syria. July 11, 2019 (Courtesy Anya Ahmad)"What
the SDF has offered is a very unique alternative form of governance not
only compared to IS's style, but also compared to the Syrian regime,"
said Sadradeen Kinno, a Syrian researcher who closely follows Islamic
militancy in the war-torn country.
Kinno told VOA that while residents in Raqqa and other areas recently
liberated from IS enjoy the liberty the SDF offers, it would take a
long time before the group could enforce its progressive ideas among a
largely conservative population.
"Individual freedoms are important for women and people in general,
especially if you've just experienced life under one of the most
oppressive groups in the world," he said. "But it will certainly be a
major challenge for the SDF to find a receptive population for its
broader gender democracy."
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