Mona Youssef, administrator of the Jazira Canton office of the Syrian Women’s Council spoke to RIC about the recent developments in Syria, potential avenues for change and action in the current situation, and the work of the Syrian Women’s Council therein.
For the sixth consecutive year, farmers and residents in Afrin region, Northwest Syria, face heavy royalties and restrictions from Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA). These practices have intensified during this year’s olive harvest season, targeting local agriculture, trade, and resources, which form the backbone of Afrin’s economy.
Nûdem, an organization established to provide care and support to people with disabilities, has started carrying out activities in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.
The Confederation of Democratic Society Organization of North and East Syria aims to be an umbrella organization for all organizations in the region.
In October 2024, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) officially launched the Zero Waste project in Hasakah Governorate, in partnership with the Kurdish Red Crescent and with support from the international organization UPP.
“We’re here to be a real source of support for women, helping them understand their role in the workplace and within their families.”
Mala Jin (English: Women’s House) in Zirgan (Abu Rasin) combats gender-based violence in the shadow of Turkish attacks. “Men and women should fight together against the attacks to build a free and equal life.”
We recently visited the women of Kongra Star in Qamishlo City, who have organized shelters and aid for the people who have fled the Shehba and Aleppo region since the new wave of attacks by Turkish militias began.
Jinwar is a solution against violence and genocide based on the values of women’s liberation, democratic community life, ecology, friendship of peoples and religions.
As Syria navigates the aftermath of the Assad regime’s fall, international networks of academics highlight the unique, democratic, and de-colonial education model of North and East Syria’s autonomous regions as a cornerstone for a transformative and inclusive future.
Hassan Hassan is an English teacher and works with the NGO S.O.S. Afrin. He is originally from Afrin and lived almost seven years in Shehba. His family and he were displaced to North and East Syria following the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army’s December 1 offensive to seize Shehba. He talks to RIC about his memories of the SNA’s attack, mass displacement from Shehba, the travel to Tabqa, and his situation having been now twice displaced.`
Two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, are currently besieged by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) following the Islamist force’s unexpected advances and capture of Syria’s second-largest city from Bashar al-Assad’s Syrian Arab Army (SAA). These neighborhoods have maintained their autonomy from both the Assad government and the Islamist opposition since the start of the Syrian conflict, becoming a safe haven for those fleeing violence, persecution and violent repression elsewhere in Aleppo and Syria. In this explainer, Rojava Information Center (RIC) provides key information on the neighborhoods, their humanitarian and political significance, the previous violence they have endured, and the grave threat now facing these isolated neighborhoods.
