DAMASCUS, 19 Mar 2006 (IRIN) - A local NGO has launched a
programme aimed at finding shelter and jobs for ostracised divorced women in an
effort to help them cope with the travails of single life.
According to
Youmna Abu Hassan, who sits on the board of the Society for Developing the Role
of Women in Syria, the project aims to rehabilitate female divorcees by
educating them, teaching them skills and providing them with shelter, in order
"to make them economically independent”.
According to a study by the
Central Statistics Bureau, there were roughly 17,000 cases of divorce nationwide
in 2004. Abu Hassan explained that the majority of these women "couldn't return
to their parents' house once they had left it".
The study also notes that
the divorce rate is almost 25 percent higher in the capital, Damascus, than in
rural areas. This is because urban women tend to be more progressive and
assertive.
"Divorce cases increase in societies that undergo many social
changes in a very short time," said sociologist Dr Hazar al-Gindi. "Working
women are still considered odd in our society. We still look at women through
the traditional perspective; that their role should be confined to raising
children and housekeeping."
Meanwhile, divorced women are often left
bereft of the financial means to support themselves. In some cases, they are
even left without a place to live in. "I actually had to become a maid just to
find shelter," said Kinaz al-Samman, 29. Al-Samman divorced after marrying at
only 13 years old, not an uncommon practice in Syria.
Divorced women also
complain that they suffer from popular stigmas associated with marital
separation. "'Divorce' is a word easily said by the husband, but it badly
affects the woman's life and even tarnishes her image," said 19-year old
divorcee Laila Khalil. "Divorced women are treated as if they’re guilty, and
aren't socially accepted."
Children can also be the unwitting pawns in
divorce cases, with husbands sometimes only consenting to give up custody of the
child in exchange for financial concessions from the mother. Although the
government three years ago gave the mother the right to keep children until they
reach 14 years of age, they are often obliged to surrender them to the father
due to lack of money to care for them.
What's more, children themselves
often experience trauma when parents divorce. According to al-Gindi, most child
beggars and thieves in the country are children of divorced parents. A study by
UNICEF released in 2003 showed that 85.5 per cent of child labourers in Syria
were the offspring of divorced parents.
According to al-Gindi, cultural
and media institutions could help improve the lot of divorced women by
contributing to "shaping a new, contemporary image for the social role of
women".
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