Fawzah… Forcibly to the black crows, the beauty will have place among us

Story No. 3
#Survivors or not yet
#Taa_Marbouta
#Al Raqqa – Syria
From: Sh. A
Editing: Lana Haj Hasan

Fawzah did not know that helping women to beautify them may cost her life in the custom of ISIS. Beauty or assistance in making it is a heresy in the ISIS custom and requires punishment.
Fawzah A was born in Deir al-Zour and lives in al-Raqqa. She worked in the field of women’s cosmetics to support her daughters and her disabled husband, who is unable to work.

The story begins by saying:
I remember that a neighbor of mine was joining ISIS, came to visit me and found in my house many women who came for my beauty services.
I and the women with me tried to behave normally and that I had an ordinary women visit. I later found out that she had informed me that I was working in the field of ladies’ beautification. Al Hisbah vehicle came and the women of alhisba arrested me. I did not know why I was arrested.

“When I arrived at Dar al-Hesba, I saw the women there telling me that I make women beautiful and adorn them.” They began to read the hadiths that they attributed to the Prophet about cosmetic and other things, and I was the first to hear them.
An ISIS woman started to insult me with a bad speech and beating, I started to deny the accusation of women cosmetic, but to the extent of the beating I recognized my being so.
They hit me hard on my hands and came and back and threatening me with a cut of my fingers. The beating was severe and I cried very hard. It was noticed that who lashed me put make up and perfume.

I suffer from pressure sickness and from the intensity of beating and crying, the pressure rose with me and I cried and fell to the ground. The prison female guards threatened me that once the sheikh came in the morning, a fatwa would be issued that would allow cutting my fingers.
My husband came to al-Hesba and explained to them our situation in the house where he was disabled and had daughters and no breadwinner they had, but no use. In order to get me out of prison, they asked that somebody guaranties me and to swear of the Koran not to go back to doing this.
I went out of prison after a person guaranteed and yet I was the speech of the women of the neighborhood and the surrounding society. Because I stayed in the women’s prison for two days and the beatings were visible on my body.

Strange how a woman informed about me and the women of my surrounding society are working to humiliate me with the incident that happened to me, although it is supposed to be the opposite and that women are the first advocates of beauty and caring of it … a strange paradox.