As the global aid slashed by Donald Trump takes its toll, essential services for women in Syria are closing, with devastating consequences at a pivotal moment for the war-scarred country. Jessie Williams visits women who are finding ways to resist.
Noor, a 21-year-old from Madaya, has faced a series of challenges since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024. After a brief and abusive marriage, she now finds herself the target of her father’s violence, with nowhere to turn for help. The women’s centre in Madaya, run by the Syrian Family Planning Association (SFPA), was her only safe haven before it was forced to close due to funding cuts.
The SFPA has been compelled to shutter three women’s centres in the Damascus governorate over the past year, a direct result of aid reductions, particularly from the United States under the Trump administration. This has had a devastating impact on women like Noor, who relied on the centres for psychosocial support and solutions to the violence they face.
With the closure of these vital services, women across Syria are being left vulnerable. Waed Tannoura, the manager of the Shams Center for Women and Girls in Homs, has seen a rise in gender-based violence and child marriage in the past year, as economic pressures mount. The nearest women’s shelter is two hours away in Damascus, leaving many women with no safe haven.
Dr. Dijla Mahmod, who works in the only maternity hospital in Raqqa governorate, is concerned that the aid cuts will further strain an already overburdened healthcare system. She has witnessed women arriving in critical condition after complications from home births, as they are unable to access the hospital’s services.
Despite the challenges, the women of Syria are determined to rebuild their country and secure a safer future. Noor is pursuing a law degree, hoping to one day take legal action against her abusive father. Others, like Rehab, a former counsellor at the SFPA centre, are finding alternative ways to support their communities through mobile medical teams.
As the international community grapples with the consequences of its funding decisions, the women of Syria continue to defy the violence and obstacles in their path, fighting to protect their families and their country’s future.
