16 May 2018•Update: 16 May 2018
By Meryem Goktas
KIEV, Ukraine
A delegation from an all-women international convoy visited the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in the nation’s capital Tuesday.
Nalan Dal, spokesperson of the Conscience Convoy, briefed the Patriarch Filaret on the convoy’s goals and projects.
Dal said delegations of the convoy are visiting various countries, parliaments, religious authorities and government officials to request their support in putting the issue of imprisoned Syrian women on their agenda.
“We want to highlight this issue in every society so that people know what is happening to women in the prisons of Syria,” she said.
Speaking about the current work of the convoy, Dal said the visit also shows solidarity with Ukrainian mothers who lost their sons during the conflict in the county’s east since 2014.
Pledge of support
The Patriarch said the Orthodox Church of Ukraine is supporting the Conscience Convoy in its cause.
“Everyone has a conscience. You (Conscience Convoy) do not unite on the basis of religion or culture but on the basis of conscience, and conscience is God’s voice in everybody.”
The Patriarch said that every person, no matter what religion or culture, needs to take responsibility in this cause as everybody has a conscience.
Dima Moussa, a Syrian lawyer who represented the Syrian women victims in the delegation, spoke about the current situation in Syria and the struggle to obtain information on women detainees in Syrian prisons.
Munira Subasic, head of the Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa, who represented Bosnian women in the delegation, said no matter which country -- Bosnia, Syria or Ukraine -- it is important to fight for justice to ease the pain of family members of victims.
“We as Bosnian mothers know what pain is. This is why I am here -- to support Ukrainian mothers and show our solidarity,” she added.
Convoy of Conscience
Currently, more than 6,700 women -- over 400 of them young girls -- are still living in prisons run by Syrian regime forces, according to a statement by the Conscience Convoy.
On March 6, the international Conscience Convoy, which calls itself the "voice of oppressed women in Syria," embarked on a three-day journey with 55 buses from Istanbul to Hatay, Turkey near the Syrian border and held a final rally to mark International Women's Day with over 10,000 women.
Women from over 50 countries, including Syria, Ukraine, Chile, Palestine, Iraq, Britain, East Turkestan, Brazil, Malaysia, Pakistan, Kuwait and Qatar addressed a large crowd at a fairground in Antakya, Hatay.
