The Abuse of the Sisters of Syria is Revealed as they are Released from Prison

On the 8th of December 2024, the Guardian Newspaper reported written and video footage of prisoners being released from Sednaya Prison in Damascus, Syria. The video footage shows men, women and children emerging from cells. As Syrian opposition forces took over multiple cities on the road to Damascus, they also opened the doors of the regime’s prisons, were many innocent Muslims were held and tortured.

Footage from Sednaya Prison shows a small child being freed with a number of women in full Hijab being unlocked from cells. Upwards of 100,000 people are said to have disappeared into Syria's prisons during nearly 14 years of civil war. The jubilation of the prisoners’ release was clear as Assad’s regime made its own exit.

However, what these images also reveal is the reality of the women who were raising infants in the squalid and dangerous confines of the prison. While their suffering and abuses were hidden for many years - long enough for them to have given birth and nurtured toddlers, we can now access their horror stories and understand the true neglect of the rulers in their duty to look after the pious women of Islam.

It is a disgraceful situation that is repeated across the world, from Palestine to Kashmir and beyond. The idea that these sisters had children with them for years begs the question of; “were they were physically violated?”

In one interview from an independent source, a sister who was released stated that she entered the prison childless at the age of 19 and returned to public life in her 30s with three children.

This offered the devastating evidence that such appalling atrocities have indeed been committed. The fact that these sisters were released does not mean their challenges are over.

What will happen to their safety and security with the country in ruins and no stable government?

It should be the norm if the Khilafah (Caliphate) was present with a virtuous leader who houses these sisters and provides for them, as many have lost all male members of their families. Even further, these horrifying events would not be allowed to occur in the first place.

How will justice be served with the criminals roaming free? Also, with national resources at a minimum, the long-term provision of these sisters is left uncertain.

The truth of the matter is that these vulnerable and oppressed women will be leaving one danger and entering another one.

The cycle of violence and living in constant fear will never end regardless of Bashar Al Assad being removed. The fact is there is nothing to truly celebrate when the Ruling System of Islam is not present, and this remains the obligation of Allah (swt).

[الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِندَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنْجِيلِ يَأْمُرُهُم بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَاهُمْ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْخَبَآئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنْهُمْ إِصْرَهُمْ وَالأَغْلاَلَ الَّتِي كَانَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُواْ النُّورَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ]

“˹They are˺ the ones who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whose description they find in their Torah and the Gospel. He commands them to do good and forbids them from evil, permits for them what is lawful and forbids to them what is impure, and relieves them from their burdens and the shackles that bound them. ˹Only˺ those who believe in him, honour and support him, and follow the light sent down to him will be successful.” [Qur'an 7:157]

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Imrana Mohammad
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir