HADEEL EL-OMAR

Idlib- The women, who have lost their spouses, have been facing social pressures that limit them and prevent them from having a normal life. Many women try to kill themselves in order to get rid of these pressures. The social pressures drive them suicide. In Idlib, there are more than 13,000 widows. NuJINHA spoke to several women, who have lost their spouses.

She struggles for her children

Fatima El-Eli is a displaced woman living in an IDP camp located in the Dêr Hesen city of the Idlib Governorate. She has been working in agriculture to take care of her children since she lost her spouse in a clash. Resisting the pressure of her family and the family of her husband to remarry, Fatima El-Eli insists on taking care of her children by standing firm despite all the challenges. She resists social pressures and struggles in order to take care of her children. Instead of living off someone, she works as an agricultural worker to stand on her own legs.

She was held in the house for nine months

32-year-old Kholud El-Tamah is another widow in Idlib. After losing her spouse, she was forced to marry a man, who is 20 years older than her. She told us that she had to remarry in order not to leave her children. When she refused to remarry, her family held her in the house for nine months. “I had to accept this situation in desperate straits,” she told us.

Women should be empowered

Drawing attention to the social and psychological pressures placed on women, who have lost their spouses, 43-year-old Psychologist Safaa El-Saghir said that the pressures lead suicide among widows. Underlining that widows are also deprived of many rights, including the right to inherit, she said, “Awareness-raising activities should be carried out to empower widows.”