Women learn knitting at a workshop organized by the Muhtaref association in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
The war and economic hardship have toughened up bereaved Syrian women, who show their mettle by learning new skills such as handcraft to help support the whole families.
ALEPPO, Syria, March 9 (Xinhua) -- As Syria struggles to recover from a decade-long civil war, women in the country have largely pulled themselves together to fight trauma, as well as economic hardship inflamed by broad sanctions from the West and fitful conflicts.
Among many women who lost their loved ones in war, some have taken workshops to hone skills that could be used to feed their family, while others try to emerge from their deep sorrows through hard work.
"Learning handicraft helped a lot to release the stress and sorrow, and to make a living," Ani Karsian, a 50-year-old woman whose son was killed in action, told Xinhua.
Women learn knitting at a workshop organized by the Muhtaref association in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
Sewing a sweater alongside other female trainees in a corner of a park in Aleppo, Karsian described the work as a way "to forget herself."
The women were gathering for a women empowerment project launched by the local charity group Syrian Muhtaref association in 2015, which teaches them new skills and helps sell their handiwork.
Karsian said all women like her should roll up their sleeves to be self-sufficient during hard times.
"I wish the situation in our country gets better. Women must work in these circumstances, which are harder than before," she told Xinhua.
At the opposite table sat Aisha Khantoumani, another trainee who has a husband with disabilities and an ill son to attend and a daughter's college tuition to pay, said she had to work hard as the only breadwinner of her family.
"I use to work on the stitching awl and I came here to learn more. I started working and making money and I became happy because I was able to bring stuff my children need at home," she added.
Women learn knitting at a workshop organized by the Muhtaref association in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
Before the Syrian war some 11 years ago, women in Syria, particularly in its industrial capital Aleppo, were relatively easy to find satisfactory jobs such as doctors and engineers.
However, the protracted war and the ensuing slow recovery made women realize that there is no comfort zone in a war-torn country, and only through steeling themselves can they survive a hard time.
Raida Zaris, another breadwinner whose husband has been confined to bed for four years, serves as the workshop's tutor.
Zaris told Xinhua that she took to handmade art as a little girl and now in her 50s, teaching other women provides both a sense of fulfilment and a source of income.
Women learn knitting at a workshop organized by the Muhtaref association in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)
"The crisis has impacted all the Syrian people and women were put in a position that they should work and be productive to create an additional income for the family because the pressure is from all sides," she said. ■
