Syria's Girl Guides
The ruling elites had banned all youth organisations including Girl Guides across Syria in 1980 but the group started to emerge once again after the ban was lifted in 2000. Photo: BBC
(Web Desk) – Through six years of war from Aleppo to Damascus, while thousands of innocent lives have been lost, more than 12 million have been forced to leave their homes, the Girl Guides have continued.
Starting to hold guide meetings in Syria back in 1950s for the first time, women now are being granted full membership of the movement’s group worldwide.
According to BBC, the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) has praised the "incredible work" of the Syria groups that has given more than a thousand of their members "a sense of normality" and "a safe space to play and make friends".
.jpg)
Girl Guide activities in Syria include singing songs, dancing, camping, and practical skills like first aid and changing tyres. Photo: BBC
"Everyone thinks that we re all dying. Actually we are having a normal life," says Sham, a 22-year-old student who lives in Damascus, the capital of the war-struck country.
Not being as odd as it sounds in a city that has been shook by suicide bombings and air strikes owning it to the battles between the rebels and the government, in any war the intensity of the conflict depends on your location – where you actually are, and so in government-held Damascus, cafes and markets have stayed open during the worst series of shelling, and even when even as other cities have been destroyed, displaced families have been left impoverished, and millions more have left the country altogether.
Sham, living in a middle-class part of the capital city Damascus knows how lucky she is.
"The war has taken its toll on my country, however, I am thankful it hasn’t affected me in person," says Sham.
In a conversation with BBC, Sham claimed that instead of breaking her down, the war has made her stronger and has helped her realise what she wanted to do in life.
Sham and Rim went to Sudan to deliver the Free Being Me body confidence programme. Photo: BBC
“I know now that studying is the key to everything,” she says.
Sham, a girl guide who wants other girls to be proud of their physical appearance without being concerned about the acceptance of physical beauty earlier this year also went to Sudan too, training Girl Guides there in body confidence.
While in most of the European countries, including the United Kingdom, Guides have traditionally been associated with ethnicity especially involving the Christian faith, Sham is a Sunni Muslim who says that members come from different religions and celebrate both Eid and Christmas together.
"No one would even ask" their religion, she says.
Trying to amalgamate power, the ruling elites had banned all youth organisations including Girl Guides across Syria in 1980.
Following the lifting of the ban in 2000, Girl Guides groups started to emerge once again and Rim, who had been a member since she was six years old and had summoned Girl Guide meetings even during the times of the ban, is now a leader, a board member and a training co-ordinator.
According to Rim, Girl Guides have made her a "strong, confident woman" and she tries to pass that on to the girls in her charge by organising guest speakers including writers and businesswomen, reports BBC.
"Girls are the key to our future. They are capable of amazing things. Not only in Syria but in the Middle East women have not reached the position that they should be in yet," she says.
"The community still thinks that women cannot be decision makers or independent. It is hard to persuade people that even though I am a woman, I can still be a leader, a decision-maker and be able to create positive change.”
Syria s Girl Guides Promise
"On my honour, I promise that I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country, to help others and to obey the Girl Guide law."
Rim (L) has been a member of Girl Guides since she was six years old. Photo: BBC
According to BBC, some of Rim’s friends have died or had to leave, and she can no longer travel around the country to go hiking at the weekend as she used to. When the Girl Guides in Syria go camping, they have to check with the army beforehand that the area around their campsite is safe.
"The Guides and Scouts is a movement that is not political. The promise is promising for the country and not for a specific government," says Rim.
"It is for the country. It is for Syria."
"We never talk about politics. It’s open for everyone. Christians, Muslims, everyone." Photo: BBC
