Recommendations for the US President of Policies

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How Syrian Women Are Fueling the Resistance
And Why Washington Should Support Them

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    This March 2013 marks the two-year anniversary of the anti-al-Assad uprisings and so far, the civil conflict has cost roughly 70,000 lives, displaced three million people and additionally made refugees of one million civilians. Countries like the UK, France and the US have provided aid to the oppositioning groups and US Secretary of State John Kerry pledged medicine, food, and "non-lethal" (which remains debatable) military aid to the Free Syrian Army (the FSA, the prominent opposition organization). Additionally, a 60 million dollar budget has been directed to the rebels' political wing to support the public goods and services in rebel-controlled areas. Although this can be seen as an good act, it is not sufficient to prevent further human conflict and the spread of Islamist extremism. More effectively, the United States should support opposition women organizations. As, Fotini Christia of foreignaffairs.com stated, this would help address the current humanitarian crisis and ensure that foreign aid reaches its intended recipients and in addition elevating the status of women in Syria.

Fotini Christia of Foreign Affairs suggest:

    "Syrian women have been active in the fight against Bashar al-Assad's regime from the start, dating back to the peaceful demonstrations in early 2011 in the southern city of Dara'a. They have remained actively involved even as the fight has become bloody. I met several of these women revolutionaries during my recent trip to the rebel-controlled countryside of Idlib province and to towns on the Turkish-Syrian border. These women smuggle guns to the opposition and make improvised explosive devices in their kitchens. They work in field hospitals saving the lives of FSA fighters. They document incidents of torture and sexual violence, in the hope that such information will be useful in a future war-crimes tribunal. Whether Sunni, Kurdish, Christian, or Alawite, with hijab or without, these women are fighting for a common objective: a free Syria..."

    A value of the source is the author Fontini Christia who is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, granting her access to many sources such as political books, primary documents and research papers.

MLA:

Christia, Fotini. "How Syrian Women Are Fueling the Resistance." Foreign Affairs. Disqus, 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2013. <http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139038/fotini-christia/how-syrian-women-are-fueling-the-resistance>.