Women in Syria: AVSI’s contribution at a Sapienza University event in Rome

On September 13, AVSI was invited to speak at the case study session “Syria – A Women, Peace and Security Perspective”, held as part of the Advanced Training Course Women, Peace and Mediation at Sapienza University of Rome, in collaboration with the course’s Alumnae/i Network.

The event took place at the Department of Political Science and aimed to offer an in-depth discussion on the condition of women, with a particular focus on the Syrian context and in relation with the themes of peace and security.

Amal Alahmar, AVSI Country Representative in Syria, and Giulia Scichilone, Country Program Manager, shared their own experiences, focusing on the role of women in peacebuilding and the specific challenges faced in the local context.

In Syria, AVSI has been present since 2014. Headquartered in Damascus, with a field office established in Aleppo in 2017, our team includes approximately 70 dedicated members, composed of 30 staff and 40 volunteers. Since our arrival, we have implemented a wide range of humanitarian and sustainable development initiatives across the governorates of Damascus, Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia, Tartous, and Sweida. Our work focuses on education, protection, health, livelihoods, and basic assistance, addressing both immediate needs and long-term resilience. 

In 2024 alone, AVSI’s programs in Syria directly benefited over 67,000 individuals, 58% of whom are women. These interventions reflect AVSI’s commitment to fostering resilience, dignity, and opportunity, particularly in contexts marked by crisis and fragility. We firmly believe that sustainable development begins with empowering individuals—especially women—and communities to shape their own futures. 

The Syrian conflict, now in its second decade, has left a deep and lasting impact on every facet of life. Women and girls have been among the most affected, yet their resilience, leadership, and contributions to peacebuilding have too often gone unrecognized. Today, I want to highlight the intersection of gender, peace, and security in Syria, emphasizing both the challenges they face and the transformative potential of their involvement—particularly through concrete interventions led by organizations such as AVSI. 

Syria remains one of the world’s largest displacement crises: women and children make up over 70% of the 6.8 million internally displaced and 5.5 million refugees. Female-headed households are especially vulnerable to exploitation, poverty, and unsafe shelter. Among teachers, many displaced women highlight the direct impact of the crisis on working women. 

The protracted Syrian crisis and the collapse of the economy have had devastating effects on women. Today, 81% of female-headed households are unable to meet their basic needs, and women’s participation in the labor force has dropped dramatically—from 22% before the conflict to just 13%. Female teachers, in particular, report salary delays, interruptions of work, and the unbearable increase in the cost of living, all of which generate further instability and distress. 

In response, AVSI has worked across Syria to strengthen resilience and provide hope. In Damascus, Aleppo, and surrounding rural areas, we supported women with home gardens, chickens, and small-scale livelihoods to secure food and income for their families. In the coastal region, more than 1,300 female-headed households were trained in sustainable agriculture and received direct support, while girls and elderly women benefitted from targeted relief. In 2017, a food security project implemented by AVSI in rural Damascus targeted 250 women affected by the situation, helping them meet their families' food and provisions needs and enabling them to produce and sell provisions. 

Promoting livelihoods has been a priority. Through the Cohesion Route initiative in Damascus, youth—including many women—were trained in hospitality, tourism, and handicrafts, fostering both economic independence and social cohesion. In Aleppo, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and the private sector, we launched a major vocational training and job creation program, combining technical training with school rehabilitation and on-the-job learning for hundreds of beneficiaries. 

Women in Syria continue to face rising domestic violence, early and forced marriage—reaching up to thirty percent of all marriages in some communities—and widespread sexual exploitation when seeking aid or basic services. The fear of sexual violence by armed actors also remains a persistent threat. While school-based reports do not explicitly document cases of gender-based violence, humanitarian agencies consistently confirm women’s heightened vulnerability. 

For AVSI, protection is not a stand-alone activity but a transversal priority that informs all interventions. In line with the humanitarian definition of protection, we ensure that dignity, safety, and rights are safeguarded across every sector of our work. Education projects for children, for example, are designed with integrated protection measures, addressing not only access to learning but also the well-being of the most vulnerable. 

In Aleppo, through a project concluded in 2024, we supported women and girls with menstrual hygiene management sessions and the distribution of dignity kits, directly reaching 500 beneficiaries. As part of the Help Aleppo – Earthquake Emergency Response, we extended this approach more broadly, combining education, protection, and livelihoods. Here, 2,675 women were assisted with psychosocial services, MHM, and referrals to essential services—interventions that addressed trauma and helped restore dignity in the aftermath of the disaster. The initiative is continuing, focusing on rebuilding community ties and education. We trained social workers, rehabilitated community centers, and provided psychosocial assistance to children and families. At the same time, women and girls received hygiene support, children attended remedial classes, and young people gained vocational skills to access new opportunities. 

In Rural Damascus, through the Syrian Humanitarian Fund coordinated with UN agencies, AVSI implemented education projects with a strong protection component. Women benefitted from parental awareness sessions designed to strengthen family resilience, while teachers received capacity-building training to better respond to children’s psychosocial and educational needs. These activities highlight our integrated approach, where education and protection reinforce one another to create safe and supportive environments for women, children, and communities at large. 

In Syria today, more than 2.4 million children are out of school, and nearly 40 percent of them are girls. The barriers are many: schools destroyed or converted into shelters, unsafe travel routes that expose girls to risk, the weight of early marriage, and poverty forcing children into work. Teachers report that, after years of compounded crises, many students are unable to read or write. Their repeated calls for basic materials and safe learning spaces reflect the looming threat of a lost generation—especially of girls—excluded from education. 

For AVSI, education is never just about access to learning; it is about dignity, safety, and protection. AVSI approach focuses on 4 pillars: Integration of child protection and education; Development of social, emotional, and learning skills; Collaboration with local actors, beneficiaries, teachers, and school leaders; Research, innovation, and communication.  

Through the Integrated Protection and Education Initiative in Qudsaya, Rural Damascus, we combine education with protection for women and children. Parenting skills, gender awareness, menstrual health management sessions, and the distribution of dignity kits strengthen caregivers’ capacities and promote safe learning environments. At the same time, two schools are being rehabilitated and equipped, while nearly 2,000 students benefit from remedial classes and psychosocial support. Back To Learn Campaigns are initiatives always carried out by the team to raise awareness on the school inclusion. Fifty-seven teachers have been trained on child-centered pedagogy, active learning, and positive discipline, ensuring quality education rooted in protection. 

Together, these initiatives reflect AVSI’s vision: education as a path not only to learning, but also to safety, empowerment, and the restoration of hope for Syria’s children—especially girls. 

The Syrian health system has been severely damaged, with only half of hospitals fully operational. Maternal mortality has more than doubled since the conflict began, and critical shortages of female doctors, midwives, and essential medicines continue to put women’s health at risk. Teachers and community members consistently emphasize the lack of mental health and psychosocial support, which is compounded by stigma, distance, cost, and the shortage of trained professionals. 

In response, AVSI has implemented the “Open Hospitals” project over the past seven years. This initiative has enabled access to healthcare for approximately 180,000 people, 53 percent of whom are women, through French and Italian hospitals in Damascus and Saint Louis Hospital in Aleppo, along with six dispensaries across the country. While hospital care remains essential, the project has shifted focus toward ensuring access to primary healthcare, chronic disease management, and preventive services, reaching patients before they even need hospitalization. Support for this initiative is planned to continue through 2027 and beyond. 

To date, an additional 12,170 people have benefitted from services including the distribution of medicines, menstrual hygiene kits, and awareness sessions on menstrual health. A transversal protection component is also integrated, with over 46,000 women benefiting from dignity kits, awareness campaigns on menstrual health and early marriage, and targeted gender-based violence services. These interventions have strengthened gender equality and improved access to both health and protection services, contributing to the well-being and dignity of women and girls in Syria. 

Despite their remarkable resilience, Syrian women continue to face significant obstacles. Patriarchal norms, ongoing insecurity, and a lack of institutional support limit their full participation in society. The emergence of HTS-led governance in some areas has raised fears of regressive policies, including restrictions on mobility and dress codes. Activists warn that excluding women from political life risks destabilizing Syria’s future and undermining democratic development. 

Yet, women’s engagement across education, health, and transitional justice demonstrates their capacity to lead meaningful change. Investing in Syrian women is, fundamentally, investing in peace. This requires strengthening leadership opportunities, ensuring safety and protection, and empowering women to act across all levels of society. 

Syrian women are not merely victims of war—they are architects of peace. Their courage, leadership, and resilience must be recognized and supported. As exemplified by AVSI initiatives—from vocational training and livelihoods to psychosocial support and integrated protection programs —women are central to recovery and peacebuilding. 

It is our responsibility to amplify their voices, protect their rights, and ensure their full participation in shaping a stable, inclusive, and democratic future for Syria.