In 2011, when the war started in Syria, Ghasak al-Ali was at school. Now, she is 27 and the sole breadwinner for a huge family of 11 members. War empowered her with hard lessons.
Bashar’s notorious jails and violent conflict have deprived countless families of their breadwinners, consequently, female had to give-up the customs and evolve new traditional values. Currently, women are being plunged into the character of the breadwinner in a way few had faced previously.
A woman named Al-Ali is from Saraqeb in rural Idlib, the state’s last rebel-held sphere. She had to find job when she was just 23 once her father’s back was broken and he got bed ridden. As the eldest of her brethren, she held responsible for the family, earning from humanitarian work and later, as she built up her skills from journalism.
“I know many women who have found themselves as breadwinners for their families and this has caused their status to change dramatically. They are no longer housewives, but hard-working women,” she said via a message from Idlib.
“The harsh conditions we lived through have completely changed the role of women and men’s view of the need for women to work.” she further mentioned.
