TRT World To Shed Light On Drama, Torture Of Syrian Women

The award-winning "Off the Grid" documentary series of Turkey's international news platform TRT World is set to meet with its audience with an exclusive episode titled "Syria's Imprisoned Women: Surviving Torture."

The documentary was shot exclusively for the 10th year of the bloody civil war in Syria in which hundreds of thousands were killed, millions of people were displaced, and it shows escape stories and new lives of women who survived torture chambers, prisons of the Syrian regime.

"With this documentary, shot on the occasion of 10th year of the drama in Syria, we bring on stories of women, full of torture and oppression, and their struggles to re-hold on to life," said TRT World News Director Erman Yuksel.

Yuksel noted TRT World made the misery of weary Syrian people known publicly for years in line with an understanding of putting people at the center of the news.

Lola Agha, one of the survivors interviewed, said her experience was comparable to a horror movie as a total of 32 women were shackled to a wall in one of the torture prisons and they were forced to stand on their toes and stay in a 9 square meter cell.

"We were allowed to use the bathroom only three times a day at certain hours. Most of the time, we had to relieve ourselves in the cell," she said, adding she was eventually released and decided to move to Turkey for a new page in her life along with her family, for her hometown was under siege at that time.

Another woman, named Mira, who was raped and tortured, said she was able to come to Turkey after her release, however, it took a long time for her to bind up her wounds and she regrets her family no longer contacts her anymore.

"Sometimes I wish I was dead. I attempted suicide three times. I cannot feel anything anymore," she said.

"Syria's Imprisoned Women: Surviving Torture" episode of the documentary series Off the Grid will be aired on TRT World on May 5th at 16.30 (GMT1930).

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Millions of Syrians got displaced as the war continued; Turkey adopted an open-door policy for Syrians to prevent more civilian casualties and today hosts over 3.6 million Syrians under the status of people under temporary protection. -