LÎNA EL-XETÎB

Idlib - While all people have been affected by the ongoing Syrian war, women are the most affected by the war. Many women in Idlib have lost some of their limbs due to bombardment, explosion, and war.

She cannot receive medical treatment due to financial hardship

28-year-old Hedik El-Sabih, who was forcibly displaced from the village of Seraqip to the camps in Idlib told us how she had lost her leg. “I was in the classroom and teaching children. Artillery hit the school and I lost my right leg. Several shrapnel pieces hit my hands,” she said that she has been using a prosthetic leg, “I use a prosthesis leg to be able to move a little. I need physical therapy for my hands but I cannot receive it due to financial hardship. Now, I always need someone else’s help to maintain my life.” 

She lost her legs and dreams

25-year-old Selam Dibo, from the city of Biniş, told us that she lost her hope of living after she lost her legs. “My tragedy began in 2019. I was a university student and I lost my two legs after I was hit by several shrapnel pieces. I lost my all dreams when I lost my legs,” she told us that she left school when she lost her legs. “Since then, I haven’t made plans for the future. Before I was a very active and energetic person but now I spend all of my time at home.”

They face social isolation

16-year-old Rana El-Buxûrî lost her legs after stepping on a landmine while working along with her brother in their field. She prefers loneliness after losing her legs. “I prefer loneliness due to social isolation.  When I wanted to visit my friends, I was subjected to physical and verbal violence by my brother. I am confined to a wheelchair now. Women in our society face many difficulties and obstacles due to being women. But if you are a disabled woman, you are deprived of many of your rights, such as your right to education and to work.”

She looks after three children

31-year-old Cûheyda El-Hamûd has to work despite her disability to look after her three children. She told us what kinds of difficulties she faces as follows:

“In 2018, I lost my husband in an airstrike. I was injured in the back and become paralyzed. I use a wheelchair to move. We had to leave the city of Asam and now live in the Atma camp. Since my husband was killed, I have to work for my children. I sell bread in the camp.”