In partnership with UN Women, Clinton School of Public Service graduate student Aliyah Sarkar has researched the gender dynamics of the Syria Conflict and the implications and vulnerabilities women and girls face.
Sarkar developed a comprehensive desk review of literature from prior to the conflict to the current circumstances of the civil war. She then conducted key informant interviews with humanitarian agencies and organizations, local organizations, and humanitarian workers, all based in Syria. Sarkar developed a report on gender dynamic trends in Syria and the implications they pose for women and girls.
The findings of this report shows an increasing use of women and children as political and military purposes by the government and various opposition groups in Syria. There are 9.5 million people currently in need in Syria and 6.27 million internally displaced persons.
In addition to the research, Sarkar supported UN Women’s Oasis at the Zaatari Refugee Camp, Syrian women’s political participation at the peace negotiations, and programmatic and technical support.
Sarkar completed the research as part of the Clinton School’s Capstone program, the final of three field service projects in the Master of Public Service degree program. Onyango Makogango, UN Women’s Human Rights and Gender Specialist notes, “The effective participation of women and attention to women’s rights issues is a critical element in achieving a just and sustainable peace in Syria. Aliyah’s paper offers a critical analysis of women’s involvement in the Syrian conflict and invites reflections on whether that involvement can be characterized as gender sensitive and in the interest of the target group.”
Furthermore, “The October 2000 adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (SCR 1325) which informs UN Women’s policy interventions in Syria was celebrated as a defining achievement for women’s peace and security on a global scale. SCR 1325 has four key thematic areas: participation, protection, prevention, and mainstreaming of a gender perspective. Implementing the resolution in conflict and post-conflict countries for inclusive and sustainable peace settlements remains intractable. More efforts and studies are needed to interrogate the inclusion mechanisms to ensure they are not cosmetic gestures but genuine gender concerns. Aliyah’s paper is a contribution in this effort.”
About United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment:
UN Women, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, became operational in July of 2010. UN Women functions to support inter-governmental bodies in their formulation of policies, global standards and norms, help UN member states implement the standards by providing suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it and to forge effective partnerships with civil society, and to enable member states to hold the UN system accountable for its commitments to gender equality.
UN Women mandate in Jordan addresses the needs for women and girls, both refugee and Jordanian nationals, by assessing their needs and understanding their circumstances. Under direction of the United Nations Regional Response to the Syria Crisis, UN women has been providing direct assistance through cash for work assistance, a safe space for women and girls in the refugee camps, and has implemented psychosocial activities to meet the traumatic needs of Syrian women.
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