Living Behind the Veil

I'm often asked what I wear in Afghanistan and what it's like to wear a veil. It's freedom. Freedom to have a bad hair day, freedom to arrange my chadar to conceal the curve of my breasts and backside, freedom to not be an expatriate for a little while. It means freedom to hide even on the street from the Afghan men's eyes which seem to strip me naked.
When I relax my shoulders and walk less purposefully, less confidently, my eyes downcast and covered by sunglasses, I pass for an Afghan woman. I hear the men whisper in Dari, "Is she a foreigner or local woman?" I chuckle but am silent. On the street, I'm also a free target....freely exposed to groping, sexual innuendos whispered to me as a man bicycles by, free to have stones thrown at me, freely seen as no one's wife, daughter, sister, mother, friend, or boss. I step inside my gate, and remove my chapan and chadar. Now I'm someone's boss, motherhood returns to me as little steps run to greet me, and I receive a kiss from my adoring husband. Now I'm free to his loving and gentle eyes which know and enjoy my curves, free to once again be under the protective umbrella of being a wife, mother, friend, colleague, boss, niece, sister, daughter, woman.

Showing posts with label syrian war. Show all posts
Showing posts with label syrian war. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 12, 2018

Organized Syrian Resistance

Apparently there is a lull today in the battle for control of Idlib, the loci of the battle between the various Syrian factions, ISIS, Russian, Turkey, Iran, and the USA.  Each have different interests and reasons for being there.

In the meantime, 3 million civilians are caught in the middle, 1 million of whom are children.

The battle for Idlib is predicted to be possibly the "worst humanitarian disaster of the Syrian war." (1)

Why is there a battle looming in Idlib? According to this source:
The province is the last major stronghold of the rebel and jihadist groups which have been trying to overthrow Mr Assad for the past seven years.The UN says Idlib is home to some 2.9 million people, including 1 million children. Almost half of the civilians in Idlib come from other previously rebel-held parts of Syria from which they either fled, or were evacuated. (2)

While the world's powers battle over Idlib, there is some encouraging news.  Something awe-inspiring.  It's an organized Syrian Resistance.  They are called:

Civil Resistance Against Extremism.  Their web page is: https://24cr.org




They are a highly networked group spread out across the country, with the goal of organized resistance against extreme Islamic groups aiming to take over the country, village by village.

Shariah law (extremist Islam) is hell on earth and cannot peacefully co-exist in a democratic society or republic. The Syrians know this, which is why they are risking their own lives for their children, grandchildren, their very way of Syrian life, their future, by working to actively expel the Islamic fanatics from among their midst.

Here is what 24CR says about the organized extremist attempts to take over their country, starting in Idlib:

it became clear to us that the society was systematically being radicalized by the extremists. Therefore, we began the monitoring of their actions across Syria, from Dier Ezzor in the east to rural Latikia to the west. Their actions and the way they are structured is the same and they only differ in some roots based on their popularity within the local community, and to what extent they rely on the locals to maintain their control. This has also led us to adopt different strategies for each society, as we cannot use all tactics and methods in a specific area and apply them to other areas without taking into account the local environments and differences. After one year and a half of serious and continuous efforts, we in the 24CR have a clear stance on the importance of such work due to being close to the local communities.

Make no mistake - from the spiritual perspective, there is a war going on in unseen realms for the very minds and hearts for the people of Idlib as well as all of Syria. 

Pray for those Syrians who have become followers of Jesus due to the war - all those across Syria and the diaspora in the bordering refugee camps to be bold in helping, bold in sharing, and to experience God's presence as this long, weary war marches on.


  • Pray for the 24CR resistance.  
  • Pray for sanity to return. 
  • Pray for the war to end and for a free Syrian people. 
  • Pray for the destruction of ISIS.
  • Pray for the restoration of Syria. 
  • Pray for Syrians, including the brave men and women of 24CR, to know their true Messiah, Isa Masi. 



(1) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/12/the-human-price-of-inaction-and-action-in-syria-turkey-and-libya
(2) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-45403334