PRESS RELEASE
OVER 10,000 WOMEN GATHERED TO MARK INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AND DEMAND THE RELEASE OF SYRIAN WOMEN
8th March 2018
A successful rally was held today in the border province of Hatay near the Syrian-Turkish borders, where over 10,000 women gathered to mark International Women’s Day and demand the release of Syrian women who are being held in Syrian prisons facing rape, torture and sexual abuse.
The Conscience Convoy started its journey on Tuesday March 6th in Istanbul where women from across the globe had travelled to participate in the Conscience Convoy.
Amongst them are mothers and grandmothers from Srebrenica, Bosnia, who have experienced and lived through torture and rape themselves, a heinous crime the existence and scale of which had shocked Europe and the world at the time. These women have travelled to offer solidarity and support to the Syrian women who are going through similar horrors.
62-year-old Bosnian mother and victim of the Bosnian War Rasema Saric said “I am here today because we had lived through the very same plights in Bosnia. Rape, torture and abuse of women were also used as horrific weapons in the Bosnian war with painful lasting consequences. We must unite and strive to put an end to these horrors against our Syrian sisters and around the world”.
The Conscience Convoy demonstrated what is best about International Women’s Day, women coming together to celebrate the achievements of women, to remember the positive changes that have been made globally towards gender equality and to continue to fight for freedom and justice for all women across the world. They gathered today here in Hayat to demand the release of Syrian women prisoners and to demand an end to rape as a weapon of war.
Nour Hijazi, a spokeswoman for the Conscience Convoy and former victim of imprisonment and abuse in Syrian prisons, said “We are humbled by the outpouring of solidarity and determination from these brave women from around the world, but we must continue to do all we can and call on the world to exert pressure on the Syrian regime to release the thousands of women still suffering unspeakable horrors in its prisons”.
END
Notes to Editors
- The Conscience Convoy is a grassroots umbrella organisation supported by a wide range of NGOs, civil society, community organisations and individuals from across the world.
- More than 7,000 women from 55 different nationalities of all backgrounds and professions will be joining the convoy. Buses will be of one type and categorised by profession.
- The following folder contains media materials which Media producers can use: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1sn857mF0lPQC2Fwn5gsFmlhu5riUC56s