Torture and severe beating of the two girls of Tal Al-Samn in Raqqa on the grounds of “honor”

Baraa Mohammad

The incident of the torture of the two girls in Tal Al-Samen sparked widespread condemnation in the northern and eastern region of Syria and in a number of countries, after video clips spread on social media, depicting the incident of beating and torturing the two girls in the village of Tal Al-Samen in Raqqa countryside.

I swear to God, I am still virgin… I swear I’m innocent
The incident began young men, relatives of the two girls, published the incident, after it had been filmed approximately 10 days before the torture incident that the two girls were subjected to at their hands, under the pretext that they refused to comply with their demands not to meet two young men whom they had dated, in the playground area near the village, and then he attacked. These are the relatives of the two sisters (the uncle and his children), and they beat them using sticks and kicks.

In addition to dragging them by their hair in the mud, insults were directed at them, amidst the two girls’ screams and pleas to stop beating them, and their uttering screams confirming that they had not committed any offensive act, “By God, I am virgin…by God, I am innocent.”

It is notable that children were involved in the process of beating and torturing the two sisters under the pretext of “washing away shame.” What is noteworthy is that passers-by stop and watch what is happening without anyone trying to save them, amid threats made by the sisters’ relatives to kill anyone who approaches and tries to help them.

The two sisters were admitted to the hospital suffering from fractures and bruises, without mentioning any other details about their health condition or their current whereabouts, but local sources reported that the two girls are with their mother at the moment.

It is noteworthy that the two sisters, Lina, 14, and Aisha, 22, live with their mother after she was separated from their father, so the uncle took over the task of raising them, after he and the father abandoned their upbringing.

Measures taken by the competent authorities towards the perpetrators
Three of the participants in the torture process were arrested after demands from the Women’s Authority and the competent authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable, while the rest fled.

The United Nations position on “honour” crimes
The incident is considered painful, especially with the approaching date of International Women’s Day on March 8, as the slogan of the campaign in 2007 was “Eliminate impunity for assaulting women.”

The United Nations considers “honor” killings of women to be a type of violence against women, and has called on member states to strengthen measures to address such crimes, and to tighten the implementation of penalties and prosecute their perpetrators. It has also stressed through covenants and charters signed by member states to combat all forms of murder. Gender-based violence, and to preserve the dignity and rights of women.

The region is suffering as a result of the war that has lasted more than a decade, especially after the terrorist organization ISIS took control and imposed its ideology, which eliminated the role of women and deprived them of their most basic rights, which calls for concerted efforts to remove the negative effects spreading in society.