Majd Izzat al-Chourbaji (Arabic: مجد عزت الشربجي ; born 1981) is a Syrian peace activist. In 2015, she was awarded the U.S. State Department's

International Women of Courage Award The International Women of Courage Award, also referred to as the U.S. Secretary of State's International Women of Courage Award, is an American award presented annually by the United States Department of State to women around the world who have ...

, for her work with women and

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

advocacy in Syria.

Biography

Madj Izzat al-Chourbaji was born in 1981 in the town of

Darayya Darayya ( ar, دَارَيَّا, Dārayyā) is a suburb of Damascus in Syria, the centre of Darayya lying south-west of the centre of Damascus. Administratively it belongs to Rif Dimashq. History and population Darayya is one of the oldest c ...

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. When she was six months old, her family fled to France to escape violence in the region, but returned in 1991. She graduated from Damascus University with a college degree in French Literature. After college, she worked on an anti-corruption campaign in Damascus suburbs.

Activism

When the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...

spilled over into Syria, Chourbaji organized sit-ins calling for the release of political prisoners. She was arrested and suffered from

police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

. Despite her injuries, Chourbaji insisted on peaceful protest. She organized workshops among the prisoners to teach peace building and citizenship. Chourbaji persuaded 150 women detainees to go on a hunger strike to force the regime to present their cases to a judge. Her non-violent tactics eventually secured a hearing in a

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

court, where she and 83 prisoners were granted release in a prisoner swap with the Syrian opposition. Continued surveillance by Syrian security forces resulted in Chourbaji's flight to neighboring

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

as an exile with her three children. Civil war in Syria has left many women vulnerable as targets of

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

and as

collateral damage Collateral damage is any death, injury, or other damage inflicted that is an incidental result of an activity. Originally coined by military operations, it is now also used in non-military contexts. Since the development of precision guided ...

of war. Fleeing to the relative safety of Lebanon is challenging, as some 800,000 refugees have sought asylum there from conflict. Housing is scarce and rent prices are at a premium. There is little or no work available, making the prospect of paying rent difficult for refugees who fled with few material goods. As of January, 2015, the situation has become more difficult, as Lebanon has passed mandatory visa requirements for all Syrians crossing its border. On 2 January, 2014, Chourbaji founded Women Now in Lebanon, a center to administer support for refugee women. They provide training for hairdressing and cosmetology, computers, drawing, embroidery, English and French language study, and knitting in addition to psychological support to women and their children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chourbaji, Majd Izzat Living people 1981 births Syrian women activists Syrian activists Syrian dissidents Recipients of the International Women of Courage Award