The northern Syrian city of Tabqa is inhabited by an Arab majority. It is part of the self-governing territories in northeast Syria and thus a place of self-organization in councils and autonomous structures. One of the basic principles of self-administration is the autonomous organization of women. At all levels of city administration, decisions are made autonomously by women. The commitment of women's self-administration extends to the resolution of social conflicts. For example, women have also formed a peace committee that acts as a moderator in conflicts. Kavsar al-Ali works in the peace committee. She talked to ANHA the news agency about the social significance of the committee's work.

"The biggest problem is the social oppression of women"

"The family members should not oppose the process of women's liberation and the women," emphasized al-Ali and said: "The biggest social problem of women is their oppression. There are many different negative values and habits in society. Certain social norms are imposed on women, their freedom is restricted and women are alienated from themselves".

"We have broken the social norms"

To change this situation, education is one of the most important means that women's self-government uses. Al-Ali said: "When women began to recognize their rights and learn about themselves, this represented an important step in the struggle for freedom. We broke through the social norms and also the misogynist social reality".

Regarding the practice of the committees, al-Ali said: "There are many reasons for divorce processes in society. The most important reason is that the woman is not considered a partner. In addition, the interference of the families in the marriages plays an important role. As a peace committee these divorce processes are an important task for us. After we have listened to both sides, we propose solutions. In this way we have contributed to the resolution of many conflicts. Some couples tried it again after all. A divorce is always an event that divides both society and families. Unfortunately, the children pay the highest price. They become victims of the problems between the parents".

"The percentage of child marriages has decreased massively"

Al-Ali calls child marriage a "criminal offence", as it is also anchored in the social contract of Northern and Eastern Syria, saying: "Child marriages are a crime. Children are deprived of their rights. With the work of our committee, the number of child marriages in Tabqa has decreased significantly.”