Published : 25-11-2022
AGPS figures indicate that 487 Palestinian women died of war-related incidents, most notably bombardment, sniper bullets, and torture behind prison bars.
Over 110 women and girls have also been incarcerated in Syrian prisons and their fate has remained shrouded in mystery.
A sworn affidavit by a female ex-detainee provided evidence for harsh torture tactics and oppressive penal policies perpetrated against women, Palestinians in particular, in Syrian prisons. Torture tactics include electric shocks, heavy beating using whips and iron sticks, and sexual abuse. A number of expectant women were forced to abort due to violence by the Syrian wardens.
According to AGPS data, at least 35 Palestinian women and girls were tortured to death in Syrian government dungeons, some among whom have been identified via leaked photos.
Dozens of Palestinian refugee women have gone missing inside and outside the Syrian territories. Others breathed their last onboard the “death-boats” to Europe, fleeing bloody warfare in Syria.
The list also includes 243 women who died under shelling, 68 under the blockade imposed on Yarmouk Camp, 28 by sniper fire, 37 in blasts, and 24 by gunshots.
Another 26 refugee women drowned at sea, five were extra-judicially executed, and 20 of other reasons, including assassination, murder, and suicide.
Damascus topped the list of victims with 163 refugee women, followed by Rif Dimashq (152), Hums (8), Hama (1), and AlRaml Camp (1).
Another 20 refugee women were pronounced dead in Aleppo, nine in AlNeraib, three in Hindarat, and 66 in Deraa city, including 11 in Deraa refugee camp.
AGPS believes the number to be far higher as scores of casualties have gone undocumented after the Syrian authorities kept their names secret. Several families have also refused to reveal their relatives’ names over retaliation concerns.
According to affidavits by ex-detainees and breakaways, Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to harsh psycho-physical torture tactics in Syrian penitentiaries, including electric shocks, heavy beating using iron sticks, and sexual abuse.
Such practices represent flagrant violations of the Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict of 1974, Article 5, which criminalizes all forms of torture and mistreatment against women and children.
Several women have also gone homeless or widowed after they lost their husbands and/or children in the war or due to torture.
Thousands of other women have been displaced from such refugee camps as Yarmouk and Khan Eshieh to northern Syria, where they have been struggling for survival in the impoverished refugee tents.
Inherently a taboo misdemeanor in the MENA region, violence against women, be it sexual, physical, or verbal, has remained under-reported among the Palestinian refugee community in Syria, with reasons wavering between fear of retaliation, embarrassment, social prestige, fear of punishment for those below the age of criminal responsibility, and distrust in law enforcement.
AGPS figures indicate that 487 Palestinian women died of war-related incidents, most notably bombardment, sniper bullets, and torture behind prison bars.
Over 110 women and girls have also been incarcerated in Syrian prisons and their fate has remained shrouded in mystery.
A sworn affidavit by a female ex-detainee provided evidence for harsh torture tactics and oppressive penal policies perpetrated against women, Palestinians in particular, in Syrian prisons. Torture tactics include electric shocks, heavy beating using whips and iron sticks, and sexual abuse. A number of expectant women were forced to abort due to violence by the Syrian wardens.
According to AGPS data, at least 35 Palestinian women and girls were tortured to death in Syrian government dungeons, some among whom have been identified via leaked photos.
Dozens of Palestinian refugee women have gone missing inside and outside the Syrian territories. Others breathed their last onboard the “death-boats” to Europe, fleeing bloody warfare in Syria.
The list also includes 243 women who died under shelling, 68 under the blockade imposed on Yarmouk Camp, 28 by sniper fire, 37 in blasts, and 24 by gunshots.
Another 26 refugee women drowned at sea, five were extra-judicially executed, and 20 of other reasons, including assassination, murder, and suicide.
Damascus topped the list of victims with 163 refugee women, followed by Rif Dimashq (152), Hums (8), Hama (1), and AlRaml Camp (1).
Another 20 refugee women were pronounced dead in Aleppo, nine in AlNeraib, three in Hindarat, and 66 in Deraa city, including 11 in Deraa refugee camp.
AGPS believes the number to be far higher as scores of casualties have gone undocumented after the Syrian authorities kept their names secret. Several families have also refused to reveal their relatives’ names over retaliation concerns.
According to affidavits by ex-detainees and breakaways, Palestinian women and girls have been subjected to harsh psycho-physical torture tactics in Syrian penitentiaries, including electric shocks, heavy beating using iron sticks, and sexual abuse.
Such practices represent flagrant violations of the Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergency and Armed Conflict of 1974, Article 5, which criminalizes all forms of torture and mistreatment against women and children.
Several women have also gone homeless or widowed after they lost their husbands and/or children in the war or due to torture.
Thousands of other women have been displaced from such refugee camps as Yarmouk and Khan Eshieh to northern Syria, where they have been struggling for survival in the impoverished refugee tents.
Inherently a taboo misdemeanor in the MENA region, violence against women, be it sexual, physical, or verbal, has remained under-reported among the Palestinian refugee community in Syria, with reasons wavering between fear of retaliation, embarrassment, social prestige, fear of punishment for those below the age of criminal responsibility, and distrust in law enforcement.
