The Conscience Convoy, formed in order to demand the freedom of the Syrian women in Assad's dungeons, has arrived Ankara.
The "Conscience Convoy", consists of women and contains representatives of non-governmental organizations from 55 countries, organized press release in Ankara for 6,500 women exposed to inhumane practices in prisons of the Syrian regime.
Habibe Öçal, Head of the Officer Union Women Commission, and Lawyer Gülden Sönmez, Vice President of the Human Rights and Justice Movement (İHAK), made the press statement on behalf of the activists gathered in Ankara at Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque.
"We will be in Hatay for the hopes related to humanity not to end," said Öcal. "Beyond all ideological barriers, we are calling for the conscientious individuals of the human family to listen to our voice, to take effective measures to ensure the release of girls and women in prison in Syria and for the protection of women in wars," she added.
Reminding that the human drama is continuing in the Syrian war, Öcal said; "Nearly a million of people were massacred by the regime and its allies during the 7-years long war. Millions of people displaced and forced migration of refugees. As in all wars, women and children lived the biggest grievances also in the Syrian war."
Öcal added that 13,581 women and girls captured in Syrian dungeons and suffered from the sexual exploitation. "According to official records, 417 girls, totally 6,746 women are still detained in the regime's prisons and continue to survive," she said. Öcal noted that UN Syrian research commission data confirms that the number of women prisons is far above this figure and that the drama is the issue.
"We took the road to end the persecution of captive women in Syria"
"In Syria, women are exposed to sexual abuse by those who knock their door on behalf of the UN and other international aid organizations," said Öçal by drawing attention that women who are in need are afraid of asking aid from the aid organizations those abuse them in favor of aid.
At the end of her speech, Öcal said; "As we are women, from 55 countries, from different views, professions, and NGOs but have the conscience as common ground, we took the road to be the voice of all who has the conscience for the end of persecution of prisoner women in Syria. Our convoy is carrying conscience, which is the common ground of value of humanity. We need to resurrect the conscience; otherwise, we pay the price in its loss as a whole humanity. If we were lived in a world where the mechanism of conscience works correctly, killing civilians would not take place in the wars. Massacres and the migrants would not happen... The Aylan babies would not wash the ashore... The world would not be deafening to Myanmar, Somalia, Palestine, East Ghouta, the cries of women and girls in Syrian dungeons."
"Let the Syrian women to be talked in World Women's Day"
Stating that she had interviewed with more than a hundred women, who were kept in Syrian prisons unjustly, Gülten Sönmez said that she was impressed of the torture they had experienced.
Sönmez, who stated that the convoy will arrive Hatay on March 8 on the World Women's Day, said: "On World Women's Day, where all the women's issues are involved, women in Syrian prison should be the most talked about. We also want the whole world to think and speak of the Syrian women in prisons in World Women's Day, so perhaps the silent scream there may find a much wider response in the world."
ILKHA