Research Summary

Adopted a survey methodology and analysis of information in accordance with the course of events and certificates of the affected,The research aims to give a picture of the study of the cases of women who have been abused by ISIS (abduction, detention of freedom, rape, …).

During the ongoing search for cases of abduction and rape of Syrian women by ISIS, we were able to reach four cases, each from a different village, but the suffering was the same,There are many women who have been abducted, and their fate is unknown until now, and some of them returned to their city or village,

But the difficulty of reaching them and the conservative community environment that refuses to put this kind of issue on the whole society, prevented us from looking more for women who were subjected to kidnapping and rape by foreign fighters, or so-called “migrants”

The search for women who were wives of fighters in the ranks of the opposition “Free Army” and after fierce battles dominated by ISIS on the villages of Aleppo countryside, began to search for women who were wives of fighters of the “free”, who considered the marriage their marriage is adultery,And that all the fighters in the “Free Army” are apostates and infidels, according to their claim, and this is what was stated in one of the articles published in the magazine “Dabek” in 2015, written by one of the most important women of the organization, called “Um Sumaya Migrant” under the title: (They are not lawful (wives) for the Unbelievers, nor are the (Unbelievers) lawful (husbands) for them.).

Two women were able to flee the organization and return to their families more than a year and a half after their absence, while the others did not have the chance to return home,Only people close to them talked about what happened to them during the organization’s control, and how they were abducted.

They all talked about the role of the Khansaa battalion, “the women’s Hesba”Which in turn punished women and supervised their torture and accountability.       

          Al Khansaa Battalion .. Origin and formation

The battalion was formed on 2/2/2014, and the idea of ​​forming the battalion existed before, but what precipitated is what happened at the checkpoint in the west of the city, where three members of the organization were killed, and four others were killed at the checkpoint east of the city by unknown gunmen Dressed women, and cover their faces . Afraid of a repeat of the process, Umm Rayyan hastened the operational steps to form the battalion.

“Um Ryan altunisia” Tunisian brunette immigrant, with  athletic body despite her 47 years. Came with her family from Iraq, after she married her two daughters to the leaders of the organization, two of its Zakha to form the battalion Khansaa in AL-iraq, and is one of the strongest women in the ranks of the organization.

The battalion, which included several women’s nationalities, was formed to become part of the Diwan of Al-Hesba. It expanded its scope of work and increased its functions. It became involved in women’s affairs within the organization. It works in the fields of media, education, advocacy, mosques, security, investigations and border setting.

The battalion sometimes participates in combat operations through medical services and food preparation. The Al Khansaa battalion manages a group of immigrant women from many countries (European, Arab and Islamic), as well as local women from Iraq and Syria.

According to the organization’s vision, women’s basic roles are considered as logistical roles: building the family, raising children, and preparing a “jihadist generation” of caliphs. However, the organization issued statements and documents that emphasize the role of women in combat and their participation in martyrdom work.

The women interviewed also agreed that going to the market was very frightening because of the presence of the Khansa Battalion, which is chasing girls on the pretext of the offense, and another to look for wives of fighters, especially foreign migrants.

Before ISIS took over the villages and cities of Syria, there was no interference with women by the dominant factions or even before they left the control of the regime, but the organization, after imposing its control over several villages and cities of Syria, was the first of its decisions against women, , Niqab, paws, loose black dress).

Perhaps here we can understand what happened to some of the women who talked about their abduction, under the pretext of legitimate dress.

who is Women:

The women who were abducted between the ages of 18 and 28 were married to men who worked for the Free Army (except for single women), as well as no children (except one woman who had one child under the age of one

There are two women who were kidnapped. We were able to return to their families. We talked about what happened with them during the period they disappeared.

The women were not abducted from one village and had no prior know each others. All the women who were kidnapped were from villages in the northern and eastern parts of Aleppo (including Tel Hajar, Baqaa, Dibak, Kibasin).

All the women in the report were victims of sexual violence during the period of factional conflict on the ground in Syria, and stories about each of these women were shown.

ISIS legitimization of the abduction and rape of “free Army” women under the name “marriage

In the article written by one of the most important women in the organization, called “Um -Samaya al-Muhajirah,” a clear message is sent to the women who were married to the “Free Army”, Which led some elements of the organization to abduct women and detention on the pretext that they are “halal” and that they must migrate and follow the “Mujahideen”, as happened with women in the research conducted in the villages of Aleppo north and east, where the battles between the opposition factions ” Free Army “and ISIS, the latter controlled by mid-2014.

After the organization’s control of these villages, there were cases of abduction and detention of women who were forced to be considered as “apostate and infidel” wives,  And that their relationship is illegal, so that its elements of ISIS would then start to kidnap the wives of the opposition fighters, were forced to marry and were hidden from view.

The study found that all women of Syrian nationality who had been abducted and forcibly detained were forced to marry foreign elements of the organization (immigrants), some of whom were in the custody of another husband,

The research was able to prove what happened during the existence of the organization, through the testimonies of women who were subjected to forced detention and psychological and physical torture, and through testimonies of the families of the victims as well.

What happened with Aisha, who is married to one of the fighters of the “Free Army”, who managed to get out of the village of Qbasin when the organization controlled it,

Leaving behind his wife and son, where members of the organization attacked the house of her family to take her to an unknown place, after the threat to her family because she was the wife of “apostate and infidel” (knowing that her husband was a Muslim, too).

Fatima and Susan, each of whom was killed in battles against the organization, yet did not receive the charges, and were forced to what they called “marriage”, after the detention at the headquarters of “Hesba”.

These cases did not appear throughout the last period, despite the controversy that took place many of the violations that the organization claimed to be from the Islamic religion,

And issued fatwas and quotes the -quran- and the Prophet’s Hadith, but these cases quickly emerged from the violations against humanity after being expelled from the northern Aleppo countryside, and ended in the areas of East Euphrates, prompting many women to flee, whether they were within the ranks of the organization, or who was Kidnapping and “captivity” of all nationalities.

The losing battles waged by the organization in its areas of control weakened its prestige, and made the so-called “Caliphate” perhaps go away,This prompted many women and men who were under his authority to talk about his crimes and violations, which are numerous types, forms and victims, including what he himself documented by showing off in his publications.

Encourage women to leave their husbands and migrate to the “land of succession:”

In July 2015, the magazine “Dabak” in the Quranic magazine “Samia Al Muhajiriyah” addressed the people she described as ” They are not lawful (wives) for the Unbelievers, nor are the (Unbelievers) lawful (husbands) for them.”, citing Qur’anic verses during the writing of her article.In her article, the writer accused the women of the “Jabhat-Alnusra” and other factions of adultery, and considered that their relationship with their husbands was illegal under the pretext of apostates and kuffaar.

Under the title ( They are not lawful (wives) for the Unbelievers, nor are the (Unbelievers) lawful (husbands) for them.) published the magazine “Dabak” in July 2015 in the tenth issue, issued by a spokesman for English speakers, An article by the author of Um -Sumaya al-Muhajirah, in which she refers to what she described as “the wives of the women of the Awakening”, citing Qur’anic verses during the writing of her article.

In her article, the writer accused the women of the “Al-Nasra ” and other factions opposed to adultery, and considered that their relationship with their husbands was illegal, on the grounds that they were apostates and infidels.

She said, “Um Sumaya”: In the name of God strong , and peace and blessings be upon the sincere and faithful, and on his family and companions and those who followed them with charity to the day of religion, but after:

“After the Sham war, which was scandalous, and when the order of the servants became two groups no three of them.A group of faith does not Kafr, and the group of Kafr no Iman, and distinguished rows of slaves,  Between Mujahid in the way of Allah – and with the permission of Allah the Victorious sect,

Which is not harmed by those who violate it or those who fail it – and a “Mujahid” for many names: civil, national, national, secular, democratic, socialist, etc.

All of which are infidel, as God has revealed to them,  Will not provide the owner but shame in the world, and fire in the hereafter

She continued: “Advise and guide the wives of soldiers Awakening,

“In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allâh), and perhaps they may fear Allâh.”

And the wives of educated Awakening who said a statement or hint at the arbitration of democracy,Or the rule of the people, or the exchange of power, Allah said:

“nor does He share His Command with any person whatsoever” 

And the wives of the Sahwaat who are dissolving in Islam, who set their throats without their learned brethren, and supported them with self and goodness over the Almohads. Allaah says :

_ And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them_

ISIS is based on what it claims to be the foundations of legitimacy and has defended its ideology through articles published in its online magazine Dabak,How much was adopted in most fatwas on the interpretations and the hadiths of Ibn Taymiyah and Ibn Baaz to justify his practices which are contrary to Islamic law,

It is also pointed out that Umm Su’miyyah wrote in its article Qur’anic verses and hadiths, in order to justify its fatwa.

Umm Sumaya also called upon the wives of the fighters (ISHWAT) against ISIS to leave their husbands, citing the story of Zainab Bint Muhammad (PBUH) When her husband left Aba al-Aas ibn Rabia for his insistence on kufr, and not believing in the message of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

She also accused the wives of members of the factions of the opposition and Islamic indifference towards the Islamic faith, saying in her article: “And the women of the Sahwa Awakening who do not care about her husband’s contract and faith,It does not matter if she becomes an Islam and becomes a kaafir, she sees him swimming in the sea of apostasy and does not care, and some of them are aware of his kufr, but she stays with him because she fears his divorce, and some of them agree with him in everything he does and works.

She added: And any fear of this, which holds you to stay with a man is not permissible for you and do not fit under one roof? But you give birth to it! You give birth to a foreign apostate man!

By God, it is obligatory for a Muslim to have the demise of the whole world as a lesser matter than to remain in the hands of a man who is an enemy of Allah and His Messenger and believers.

She says: “How much do I wonder between myself and myself, not among the women of these tyrants and their wives a rational woman?

! Yes, Asia the daughter of Mozaham, the wife of Pharaoh, the Asia, in which a Koran was recited  until God inherits the land and from it. “

One of the barriers of takfir is the save for your husband. How many of a beard have you drunk from the cup of apostasy until the end, when the turbans have laughed at it and insulted it?

God has repeatedly enabled her in the earth Volt legislated her back, and did not judge what the Lord sent down, even for one hour.

And openly attacked the “ALNUSRA,” saying: “Even the prostitute shot her dead, and said that she was accused of prostitution!

They fear that they will be exposed to the truth. That beard gave up the rules of religion and principles until it was completely extinct by the demonstration apostates against Muslims, “referring to the execution of” Nasra “woman on charges of” prostitution.

As Um Sumaya claimed that all the opposition factions and even the “AL-NUSRAA” rejoice in the bombing of the homes of civilians, she said in her article:

“You,  Allah,will guide you to a husband who is happy to fly the planes of the Cross in his skies to bring the lava of death to Muslims, to the vulnerable of the newborns and women,

And how the confessions exposed their joy and their victory by bombing the Crusader alliance for the role of Muslims, and you serve a pair of satisfaction Rida Arabs or the West or the people, not the satisfaction of the Lord, tired and all the trouble for it will be a mess!

In a letter calling on the wives of the fighters in the opposition factions to work on advising their husbands and intimidating them from Allah (Almighty) and reminding him of it,

To advise your husband and fear him of (Allah) and remind him, If he repents and does good deeds, then that is the virtue of Allaah,

give him whom he pleases, and if he is arrogant and took pride in sin, you have to abandon him in this world to lose in the Hereafter,

I am from here, from the state of the blessed Caliphate, I invite you to immigrate to us! Do not you love Allah and His Messenger?

Do not you want to live on a land that has no rule but the rule of Allah?

came then, and I will turn your side towards the House of Islam and remind you that the migration must be on every Muslim and Muslim from the House of Kufr to the House of Islam.

At the end of the article, the writer called on all women not to hesitate to migrate to the “land of succession” saying:

“Do not wait for you to be preceded by a woman and a woman of the Awakening women of migration, but as role models and like them all, and the greatest honor to be the first;

The Salaf differed in the quote on the first in the first migration; they said: The first immigrant women Umm Salamah, and some of them said: but Laila daughter Khaythma husband Amer bin Rabia.

Link of the tenth issue of the magazine “Dabak” 2015 from page 42-48

https://archive.org/details/Dabiq10_20150713_2226

Who is the “UM sumaya AL-muhajira?”

Is the most famous and controversial ISIS woman whose real name is not known and is likely to be European of Maghreb origin, specifically Tunisia,She wrote in the magazine “Dabak” article entitled: “They are not lawful (wives) for the Unbelievers, nor are the (Unbelievers) lawful (husbands) for them.” In which she confirmed the disbelief of the Syrian opposition factions and demanded the wives of the factions fighters and the Nusraa to leave their husbands on the pretext that kufr requires differentiation between the spouses and considers their survival with their husbands a kind of adultery,I also wrote an article entitled “Spaya or bitches?” Described “captivity” as a great prophetic job ,She was also disturbed by some of the organization’s supporters who attacked the “captivity” and considered it rape of women.

The military commander who called for  catch will  the women of the “Free Army”

Ahmed Gad, born 1983 Suez, holds a bachelor’s degree in information systems and computer from the “Modern Academy” in Maadi,

He lived in the basin area of Suez with his family of three brothers, two of them children working in an Arab country as well as one daughter married and living with her husband in Suez.

With the outbreak of the Syrian revolution and the entry of many immigrants from Arab and foreign nationalities,In 2014, Ahmed Gad and four of his cousins entered the city of Graves and joined ISIS after they failed to enter Gaza in Palestine.

Ahmed Jad was named Abu Jandal al-Masri, or Abu Mu’adh, and was a military commander in the ranks of the organization. He participated in several battles against the Free Army, and executed many elements of the “free Army”

Abu Jandal was the chief of operations at Meng al-Askari airport. According to witnesses from the Free Army who fought ISIS in Bab al-Bab in 2015, Abu Jandal al-Masri was calling through the contact devices that he would capture the women of the Free Army if the organization entered the region. In late 2016, his family received the news of his death in the province of Raqqa after a raid by the international coalition forces.

According to a group his friends, the young Ahmed Gad did not have any religious or political activity during his stay in Suez, and this was very surprising to those close to him.

Violations against women by the organization “ISIS”

In the provinces controlled by ISIS in 2014, women were subjected to grave abuses in which the organization was organized to torture women. Elements of the organization used intimidation and murder as a tactic to recruit women in these provinces.

Women who have been in the areas under regulation for years have been the victims of many criminals. The organization is the most prominent of course, but it is not the only one. Most importantly, the crime against the victim is still going on, but how?

The organization practiced several types of persecution against women in areas under its control, but it is noted that these abuses by the organization increase in the areas where the elements of the majority of non-Syrian nationalities, whether Arab or foreign,

While the intensity is reduced within areas with predominantly local elements, due to several considerations,

The most important of which are that the people of the region who belong to the organization have current and future societal considerations that restrict them, and of course they do not exist with the foreign elements or what they call the “immigrants”

The testimony of women in the research confirms this fact, most of them were victims of non-Syrian elements.

Therefore, it is noticeable that there is a high rate of abuse against women in the city of Raqqa, which has a large number of foreign fighters, while in rural areas, as well as for the cities of Aleppo countryside such as Manbj and Bab,

In which the rate of excesses increased in parallel with the presence of large numbers of “immigrants”, but in other areas such as the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, because most of the organization’s fighters are from the same area (the sons of a rural community)

They are careful not to clash with their hard-line society on women’s issues, and thus avoid societal pressures that can be exercised against them.

Of other criminals against women in the ISIS regions, it can not be denied that a good proportion of the cases of women’s persecution of “forced marriages”

The parents had a role in it, either in anticipation of money, or false religious convictions, or to gain a sense of security, by thinking that this type of marriage protects the parents and their daughter,

Fear of reprisals by male members of the family who refuse to marry her daughter may be one of the reasons for such a marriage.

Another criminal that is still free, and perhaps the most influential one for women, is the societal perception of the right of women who have suffered injustice from ISIS, and perhaps their extension to years and decades to come.

Of the criminals, the enemies of the organization, who exaggerated what the organization did during the years of “succession”, including the excesses against women, and all his purpose,

Although it has caused the immediate and possibly future damage to the victim, and perhaps the great exaggerations and many untested accounts that have no degree of credibility for political purposes, and perhaps religious and ideological,

 One of the most prominent examples of this, and the victim still bears the consequences so far .. and perhaps in the long term in the future.

ISIS Narrowing on Women OF sunni

In January and February 2016, Human Rights Watch interviewed 21 Sunni Muslim Arab women from the Hawija region of Iraq and 15 women and girls from the Yezidi minority.

All fled from areas under the control of the ISIS, most of whom fled in late 2015. Many of the Izidiyat – abducted by ISIS in mid-2014 – spent more than a year in captivity.

They described their forcible conversion to Islam and their use in sexual slavery, sale and purchase in slave markets and transfer them to up to 4 elements of ISIS. Human Rights Watch documented systematic rape of women and girls for the first time in early 2015.

https://www.hrw.org/ar/news/2016/04/06/288458

Psychological and social effects on these women:

The psychological and social effects are not only on the victims, but also on their families, communities and groups,

 So we introduced the cases of women to the “zuhor Kahwati”, a specialist in psychological and social support, which has long been working with women survivors of war, under the supervision of psychiatrists.

“Kahwati” says:

After looking at the research and the cases of women, it turned out that all the women were very frightened and exhausted throughout their detention,

Maram was also detained by her family for fear of repeating the experience of her sister Aisha. Fatima and Tasnim talked about the length of detention that lasted more than a year and a half,

During which they were subjected to inhuman treatment and physical rape and attempted suicide during detention.

In her testimony, Fatima says she stayed in detention for a week in a dark place on her own, and they came to her with two meals a day,

Tasnim was also beaten by a member of al-Hesba during her detention at the school, where the organization used a place to detain people who were outside his control, noting that he used headquarters, government buildings, churches and others to implement his policies .

The victims did not talk about the quality of the food that was provided to them. They only talked about the darkness of the place and the use of beatings and insults by women working in the ranks of the organization.

Fear and anxiety continue to accompany the families of the victims and the women who have been abducted, as well as the families of the victims who spoke to us about what happened to them during their abduction (Susan and Aisha)

They suffer from the symptoms of “Grife”. This is called the prolonged grief. For Maram, the narrator of the story is suffering from fear and isolation and also feeling inferior. The caregivers have forced her to imprison her and isolate her throughout the organization, causing her great tragedy and suffering.

“Fatima” suffered psychological symptoms as a result of the five days of detention, assault and rape, all psychological symptoms did not decrease in the victim because they got in a sequential manner,

That the blame of the self did not turn to self-esteem, the symptoms still exist, which leads to a state of depression as a result of the pressure suffered during the detention for a long time,

During which she could not see the outside world, and lost contact with the community, which led her to think about suicide.

Tasnim also suffers from a similar psychological state, her feeling of inferiority and low self-esteem due to the rape situation she was subjected to, forced detention and forced marriage.  Making the idea of suicide more realistic.

“The treatment of suicide takes between one and one and a half years, from the last idea born to the victim and even if it is just thinking, it is likely to be serious,

This policy is subordinate to HQ, which operates according to the World Health Organization (WHO) policy. On this basis there must be safety and control plans to avoid any shock, so as to avoid the preconceived notion of suicide.

Tasnim was also able to create mechanisms because of its rebellious personality and self-control during its time with the perpetrator,

And acclimated to the intense pressure she was subjected to, to pay to seize the first opportunity to escape and escape from the place of detention and return to the home of her people dedicated to her strong personality.

Continuous research by the mother “Mother Susan” about her daughter created have symptoms of tension, fear and anxiety,

In addition to conflicting news about her daughter she has increased anxiety symptoms. The mother also feels shame if her daughter returns,This gave birth to a feeling of inferiority. Mothers who live on hope and become disillusioned are initially shocked.

She continued, “Kahwati”

All women isolated themselves in the home away from society and relatives, because of the lack of acceptance of society to them as a result of being shocked by the existing custom in society,

That the absence of women from their society and their people in an unknown way is something that is contrary to the customs of society.

As for “Fatima”, the lack of acceptance in society, planted in her memory as the cause of the tragedy did not happen, and this is what made the “skin of self” accompanied by all the time,

It is possible that the symptoms are more likely to accompany depression if isolated from society and this strengthens the idea of suicide again,

Tasnim also said that society is seen as an offender and not a victim,

If you do not find coping mechanisms to get out of the house and enhance the skills you own, you are likely to experience tension and isolation again.

“Kahwati” says:We can say that all cases have a feeling of inferiority, low self-esteem, whether the victim or her family, or even caregivers,

They were also born with a bug of society and a sense of stigmatization for themselves and society as a whole. We must not equate the executioner with the victim,

And to seek support for these victims, when the first support process will be rid of 50% of the suffering they have.

“As a psychologist, we can work with both victims and caregivers separately and it is possible to combine care for them together, and also focus on providing appropriate health care.

Recommendations:

1-Provide full psychological support to the victims, their families and the surrounding community to accept their presence in the community after their return through psychosocial support

2. 2-Educate communities to reduce stigmatization and encourage support for victims through awareness-raising discussions and forums, and to address issues of sexual violence in particular

3-Highlight the issues of community and research to find solutions to solve the lack of acceptance by the community.

4-Discussion sessions between the victims of this kind of psychological and physical violence and rape with their peers who were subjected to the same in the detention of the regime Assad, under the name of “psychological support for evidence”

5-Work within networks to provide support to the forcibly disappeared victims, abductees and violators of all parties to the conflict in Syria.

THE Appendix: “Women’s Stories””

The following are the stories of women in detail about what happened with them during the existence of ISIS:

“Fatima,” 27 years old from the village of Tel -Hajar, the northern countryside of Aleppo

Fatima is 27 years old, the wife of a member of the Free Army called “Abdul Muhain” who died in a battle against ISIS in Aleppo,

She is the mother of a six-year-old child. Her father is dead in 2005 and her mother is still alive. Her family consists of two young men and three sisters.

Fatima says: When ISIS took control of the town of Qabasin after mid-2014, it was welcomed by the people in a desire to control their village on the Islamic way,They wanted to get rid of Assad’s rule, but in early 2015, one year after the organization’s entry, the people discovered that they had come to govern, not to liberate.

Fatima added: “The organization forced women to wear the niqab, which was not usually widespread before the organization existed.

She stressed that the violations of his elements were many against women, including skin, arrest, verbal and physical harassment,

The organization was able to form a so-called “women’s Hesba” to assume its duties towards women, which played its arbitrary role in the village and other ISIS-controlled areas.

Fatima told us about what happened with her. “One day, while I was walking in the market to buy the necessities of the house, I did not wear the niqab,I noticed that a man wearing the uniform of the organization and had a long beard was following her to the house. “

A few days later, a group of women from the village and the women under the “women’s hesba” came to my mother and after they left I asked her,I replied that they came to ask for marriage to one of the elements of the organization, and they are ready to pay the dowry required, but I answered absolute rejection, I want to care my son only.

What is women’s Hesba?

The system of “women’s Hesba” is one of the most important pillars and foundations of the policy of organization in all areas of control in Syria and Iraq,Is interested in intervening in the presence of women in a problem or issue in addition to the application of the limits on women and the inspection of homes,Its membership was limited to women only, and its sole task was to search and monitor women and to arrest those who committed any offense.

“Fatima” After two weeks a car came toISIS heavily armed with men and weapons and took my brother to an unknown destination, and after they left my mother told us to go to Hesba to ask him,I asked about my brother and everyone denied knowing about him. But when we left, the man who was following me came two weeks ago and told us: “My brother is wanted for his cooperation with the coalition forces.

But my mother tried to convince him to stop throwing this charge, but without interest, and asked us to go home.

A few days later, the women of Hasba returned to Fatima’s house and told them that the man who asked for their daughter’s hand was prepared if she accepted that their son be released from prison.

Then the women left. On the same day, a car of ten women arrived in the car with Fatima’s brother. They threw him in front of the house, took Fatima and went to their place.

At the headquarters taken by the man who preached to himself a few days ago and was called “Abu Abdullah Masri” and told her after he delivered in the basement as lawful for him because she is the wife of the unbeliever as he said,Fatima was put in the cell for a week and they brought her two meals a day. Then Abu Abdullah gave her away and told her that she had become “halal” for him, that she should forget her family and not cry again, but she could not stop crying. He made Abu Abdulla to beat her until she was silent.

Fatima says:”I lived with him in the village of Qabasin in one house. He prevented me from talking to anyone. I thought I would commit suicide a lot.” Because of the ill-treatment received by “Abu Abdullah Egyptian” and grief over the separation of her son and her family, “But I retreated from this decision as my father and my only son.”

“After several months, he took me to Deir Ezzor and I was living in the city of al-‘Ashara. Abu Abdullah was bringing a lot of money to his house and I managed to hide a little of it.

During a period of stay in his house I met a neighbor and I trusted her. One day I was able to contact my mother via her mobile phone. I heard my son’s voice and I could not contain myself and I could not cry. “

After the city was subjected to heavy shelling by the international coalition aircraft, the neighbor decided with her husband to escape the inevitable death, Fatima told them to escape,After the consent of her neighbor and husband, her neighbor’s husband persuaded the smuggler to help them smuggle Fatima, and waited until Abu Abdullah al-Masri came out to fight on one of the fronts and managed to escape from the house.

Fatima says: “I wore the veil” throughout the escape path difficult and tired until I reached the village liberated, and the moment breathed a sigh of relief,From that village I went to my parents’ house where I met my mother, my son and the rest of my family after two and a half years in my absence, but despite my pain, society is ruthless,

Their looks at me say that I am the cause of all this tragedy “

“Susan” 18 years old from the village of Bazaa countryside Aleppo Eastern

Mariam Khatib is the mother of nine children, including eight daughters and one child, her husband died ten years ago, living in her home village Bzaha Aleppo eastern countryside.

Maryam works in the agricultural land until she gets her day. She lives with her two daughters and her elderly father, who is unable to help her only son. He works in building materials. She earns 1000 Syrian pounds ($ 2.12) for 7 hours.

Maryam, Susan’s mother, tells us that her daughter, aged 16, married a young man named “Mohammad Ragheb” who was part of the Free Army and was killed in a battle against ISIS.

Maryam says that in March 2015, her daughter, Susan, was kidnapped by ISIS women and taken to the Hesbah headquarters. We did not know anything about her then,

But after several months came the news of marriage to one of the “immigrants” within the ranks of the organization called “Abu Qatada Tunisian”

She said that Susan was eighteen years old when she was kidnapped and had no children from her deceased husband, Mohammad Ragheb, a year after the disappearance of her daughter, Suzanne,

A person who did not reveal him continued to say: He claimed to have lived near her daughter,

He told them that “Susan” had a child from the immigrant “Abu Qatada al-Tunisi” and that she lived in the eastern region of Syria (Raqqa – Deir Ezzor).

The mother, Maryam, added that all that we got was rumors and there is no evidence of this. Today, the absence of her daughter was three years old, and she said with great pain and pain inside her: “I missed my daughter and we do not know anything about her.”

On the other hand, and about the suffering of women during the organization, Maryam says: There are a lot of cases of skin and torture in the public streets carried out by the “Al-Khansa Battalion.” She added that women can not do any work at that time because the organization is attacking women.

The fear was instilled in the hearts of many women, prompting most of them to commit to homes.

When she talks about the return of “Susan” and her community look, she said, “There will be a great tightening and determination on her movement by the community, we can not let her enter and leave the house as before, the society is ruthless and we are in a very conservative environment.

Tasnim, 21, from the village of Dabak, northern Aleppo countryside:

Tasnim is a 21-year-old living with a family of her father and 12-year-old sister and her brother, and her mother has died since 2012 as a result of diabetes.

“ISIS controlled the village of Dabak in mid-2014 and the surrounding villages. At the beginning there were divisions between supporters and opponents of its existence, and there were those who were neutral about the organization’s actions,” Tasnim said.

At the beginning of ISIS’s control, there was not much harassment or interference in the affairs of the people. A few months later, the organization began issuing resolutions such as the dress worn by women

And to be black, and to prevent smoking, and there are a lot of things that deprived us and also there are many cases of executions “retribution” and arrests of young people.

Tasnim was working in a women’s clothing shop in the village, and by virtue of her work, she graduated from the house. Her father was an old man. He had a small shop and her brother worked in a construction workshop,Sometimes he sits at home for ten days. At the beginning of the peaceful movement in the Syrian revolution, he went out a lot in the demonstrations, but as a result of the deteriorating material conditions he left everything and returned to work.

Complete her conversation: “Before I wore the armor , I would encounter many members of the organization in the public streets, and I feel that they look at me horribly.

And there are those who watch me in every step that I walk from going and returning from work, she added that her father told her, that she has to wear “armor ” to avoid problems with the organization.

What is the “ARMOR” imposed by ISIS on women?

Is a piece of black cloth consisting of three pieces placed on the head and drop on the face to cover completely with the eyes and all face  and must not to be transparent,

And the appearance of the eyes, and the elements of Hesba were violating women who do not wear the armor or dress legitimate.

“I remember very well,” he said. “The door was knocked on us and my brother opened the door. I heard the conversation between her and the men. They told him,” You have to go to the training camp and join him as soon as possible. “

After my brother closed the door, he returned and told my father what had happened. He told him that members of the organization were abroad. They told me that Ali had to attend their training camp. On Sunday they would return home to take me. My father asked my brother to flee the area.

My brother did not want to go to the camp and was also afraid to come to us with problems, but my father insisted that he flee and my brother would not leave the area, but the organization started looking for him continuously, but after a while they did not come back to our house to ask about Brother.

Tasnim said, “One day, three women from the women ‘s Hesba  came to the shop and began to pick up the goods.” Then she asked me about my age, whether I was married or not, when I replied that I was not married I was offered to marry one of the Mujahideen brothers. “

I was shocked then and did not realize what to say to her, but I told her that my cousin wanted to marry me. I had only this answer to escape from them, but she did not react and left the shop without words.

Two weeks after the first incident, three women from the “women’s Hesba” entered the shop. Outside, two men from the organization were standing. They arrested me from the shop and began screaming and crying, but one of them beat me, She tried to silence me and said to me, “You do not like halal but you want to do harram.” I tried to know what the problem is and where to go? They said to me: “You will go with us to the headquarters of al-Hesba, and with a sharp tone told me that things here are not” Saibeh “-Chaos-“They put me in the car and went to my father’s place and told him, ‘Your daughter is with us, we will hold her accountable.’ My father did not speak anything. He was shocked by what happened and sat in his place without any movement.

Tasnim added that she was kidnapped at the beginning of 2016 and put it in one of the rooms in the Dabak Preparatory School, which was the headquarters of the Hesbah, and I stayed for five days no one came to talk to me,

Only to bring food and drink, but on the second day one of the women of the Hesba came into the room and said to me: “You will be married to one of the Mujahideen brothers.” He is with us in Hesba, one of the important princes called Abu Zubayr, And wants to marry me,

 When I heard these words from her, I said to her: “I will kill myself and I will not get married.” I began beating and insulting. After a while, Abu Zubayr ALTunisia and said, “I will come the next day and take you.”

“I saw you and I admired you. I will take you to live with me in the province of Raqqa. I could not speak to him. His Arabic language was very heavy,” he said.

After her arrival in the province of Raqqa, she took me to a house to live in. She was tall in a building on the second floor,

He said that he would come home two days and miss a week or more, and when he came home he brought with him the necessities and needs of the house enough for his absence.

And about her life with “Abu Zubair Tunisian” she said: Despite the difficulty of life and deprivation of everything and life was like prison and treated me as a slave, and not as a wife, I can not ask or talk to him or anything, is who ordered and end, Life with the passage of days.

Tasnim confirmed that she had only come out of the house twice to nature, not knowing what was happening abroad, or even the name of the neighborhood in which she lived.

“The most disturbing thing about Abu Zubayr is that I do not accept my marital life with him. This is what he provoked. We had no children. He was very keen that there should be no pregnancy.” Tsenim also says she felt he had a second wife.

One day Abu Zubayr came home and was in a hurry. He told me, “Prepare your things for us to get out of the area.” I said to him, bravely, “Kill me and do what I want, but I did not go anywhere else.”

He did not follow my words, but he went into the room and took a few papers and a sum of money. He went out quickly, did not close the door behind him, and left him open without closing it.

“I was astonished a year and a half ago when he took me and the door was locked. I sat for two hours waiting for him to come back, but he did not come back. I hurried and put on my cloak and ran out of the house,

I started walking on the streets, entering Roads and getting out of the other. I did not know where I was, so I was able to stop a taxi. The driver was older than my father.

He said to me: How do you get out without a mahram, my daughter, where do you go ??

I felt scared for a moment. But I said to myself: I have to be strong, one dead. I told the driver: “I want to help me. I was able to escape and told him what happened to me.”

He told me that I was still small and that I should sit next to him and he would take me to his house at Umm Sa’id, his wife, and that she would help me.

“Abu Saeed” brought me to his house, and there I spoke with “Umm Said” in my entire story. “Abu Saeed” said: “We will stay with us until we get out of AL-Raqqa.”

Two weeks later I was at Abu Sa’id’s house. One day, he told us that we had to get out of al-Raqqa, the most intense battles between the Kurds and the organization, and the people began to leave. Abu Sa’id was preparing fake identity cards.

We left in late September 2017 from Raqqa and spent 5 days on the road. We do not know where we are. On the sixth day, we arrived in the town of ‘Azzaz in Aleppo countryside in northern Syria.

When I arrived in the town of Izzaz, I felt safe and comfortable, and the hope that I had lost a year and a half ago had returned. I told Uncle Abu Said that I had become close to my village and that he would take me to my family,

I started to remember the way home until we reached our house. I saw my sister sitting in front of the door of the house. The car stood up and got down. I hugged her and I cried. She called my father and told him that I had come back and hugged me and started to cry.

Tasnim says that the society’s views are very difficult and that they blame her as if she went with him of her own volition. She added that there are some views of society that are unfair, she built a conservative environment.

Her relationship gradually began to turn out to be fairly good with her family and relatives when she spoke about what had happened to her during the past period.

Tasnim lives with her parents after she returns to them, working in wool weaving. “I aspire to become a teacher in a school or a nurse,” she says. And wish to live a new life that can forget what happened with it in the presence of ISIS.

 

 

“Aisha” 25 years of the village of Kabbasin city of Aleppo countryside

The organization of the Islamic state dominated  al-Bab in early 2014, and after a year of control, it began issuing decisions and controlling civilians.

Aisha, aged 25, married to a cousin named Mohammed, was in the ranks of the Free Army when he imposed a call to control the city of Bab.Muhammad and many of his friends managed to escape from the oppressor to the city of A’zaz, hoping to return for fear of retribution by the organization, leaving behind his wife and infant child.

“Aisha,” the daughter of a middle class family, the number of members of her family eight divided into six young men and two daughters and her mother and father, their father works in the sale of fuel and has a prostitute to sell fuel oil,

Due to poor economic conditions, Maram, the younger sister, says they are permanently displaced because of their instability in one house because of the high wages of homes.

Maram tells us what happened with her sister Aisha on 24/6/2015, when “four elements of the Islamic state came to our house.” The father of Aisha received them and brought them home,

They wanted to tell my father that Aisha had to absolve herself of her husband, Muhammad, because he was an apostate , as they claim,

They also said that your daughter when she was in the custody of Muhammad, their relationship was adultery and he is a kaafir, and she must announce her leaving it to him. “We will do our job to marry one of the mujahideen brothers who came to defend Islam.” According to their claim.

But my father told them that Muhammad was the husband of my daughter who was praying and he was a good man. But one of the men of the organization took out a pistol and threatened to kill all those who would defend him and his followers. Anyone who communicates with him is like a apostate and a kaafir.

In the meantime, my sister “Aisha” heard the stealth talk between my father and the organization, collapsed crying and began to shout loudly, and told them that she is no longer the wife of “Mohammed” and does not want to marry someone else, for fear of arresting her elderly father, From the house after they did not speak anything.

Two days later, they returned home with a prince named Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Tunisi, an immigrant. They took my sister Aisha and we could not do anything for her, just crying and screaming.

My sister “Aisha” had a baby who did not complete the year of his age called “Abdullah” Two months after the incident came again and took her son, who was still living in his grandfather’s house, did not know where they took him?

Maram says that the ISIS elements used to go to the homes of civilians in the area and try to infiltrate among them and brainwash their youth to urge them to fight with them and convince them that the Free Army is apostates and infidels.

When the battles began in al-Bab against ISIS, my father hurried to get information about my sister Aisha, asking about a person named “Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Tunisi”, but he did not receive an answer to his question. Head to the eastern regions of Syria (Raqqa – Deir Ezzor)

A few months ago, at the end of October 2017, Aisha was able to communicate with us through a telephone call that did not exceed three minutes. She was very frightened and collapsed in tears. She told me that Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Tunisi treated her as a slave,He told us that she was traveling between Iraq and Syria and did not know the name of the area she was in. This is the only contact that has happened between us since she was kidnapped.

“Maram” is twenty-one years old born January 1995, the younger sister of “Aisha,” and was witness to the incident of her sister and talked about what happened with them, saying that she lives with her family,During the time of the organization, her father was very careful not to see her, for fear of repeating what happened with her sister, and says that her life closer to the prison at that time, forbidden to leave the house, or appear in front of even guests.

Maram confirmed that she is trying to return to her studies, which she denied when he was in the city. She said she bought some textbooks but was frustrated by the lack of schools or universities.

  When we spoke to her, she told us to use aliases for fear of the society in which they live, customs and traditions, and because the environment is very conservative and no mention should be made of fear of the reputation of the family.

Conclusions:

Listening to the stories of these women who have been kidnapped, tortured and raped by the ISIS “immigrants” is very difficult

Rape and other forms of sexual violence, sexual slavery, cruel treatment and other abuses committed during armed conflict constitute violations of the laws of war in accordance with the Convention / Convention Non-International Armed Conflicts Article 4 (Additional Protocol II) and International Armed Conflicts (Additional Protocol I) Article 76 Fourth Geneva Convention, “Women shall be respected, and no woman shall be sexually raped or allowed to do so.”

Psychosocial support for women who have left ISIS is a necessary service and they are somewhat absent from the areas where they live. As we said, they did not introduce any of them to psychotherapy so they could absorb the experience they had with them.

Resolution 1960 of 2010 by the Security Council underscores the importance of States increasing the access of victims of sexual violence to health care, psychosocial support, legal assistance and socio-economic reintegration services, particularly in rural areas.

Rukaia ALabadi