Syria's Alawite Women Speak Out: Justice or Revenge?

"One of them asked if I was Sunni or Alawite. When I said Alawite, they began insulting the sect."

Ramia, a teenager preparing for a family picnic in Syria's Latakia province, never expected those words would seal her fate. Three armed men claiming to be government security forces dragged her into their white car in what would become a two-day ordeal of captivity and threats.

Since dictator Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed in December 2024, the Syrian Feminist Lobby has recorded reports of more than 80 women going missing, with 26 cases confirmed as kidnappings. Nearly all belong to the Alawite sect—an offshoot of Shia Islam comprising about 10% of Syria's population and Assad's own religious minority.

When Liberation Becomes Persecution

Ramia's testimony paints a chilling picture. Forced to wear a full-body covering and niqab, she was locked in an underground room furnished with a bed, dresser, toiletries—and a condom. Her captor, who "did not speak Arabic fluently" and had "Asian features," photographed her face after removing her veil.

A woman in the building, claiming to be the captor's wife, explained the photo "was to determine her price for sale." She told Ramia that "many" others had been kidnapped before her—some raped and released, others "sold."

Nesma, a mother in her 30s, endured seven days of captivity and repeated sexual assault. Her masked captors told her "Alawite women were created to be sabaya"—an archaic Arabic term for female captives that Islamic extremists use to justify sexual slavery.

Official Denials, Unofficial Admissions

Syria's Interior Ministry investigated 42 reported kidnappings and declared all but one "false." Spokesperson Nour al-Din al-Baba categorized them as "voluntary elopement," "staying with relatives," "false social media claims," or "involvement in prostitution."

Yet a security source from the coastal region told the BBC anonymously that kidnappings had indeed occurred, including by members of the General Security Service. "Some officers adopt kidnapping as a means of revenge," he said. "Some cases have been uncovered, and the officers involved were immediately dismissed."

Victims' families describe mockery from authorities. When Nesma reported her kidnapping, officers told her "you should say you were on a picnic." Ramia's family received phone threats warning they "would pay a price" for talking and fled the country.

The Anatomy of Sectarian Revenge

The timing tells a story. These kidnappings span both before and after March 2025, when more than 1,400 people—mostly Alawite civilians—were killed in sectarian violence. Government forces were accused of revenge killings following a deadly ambush by Assad supporters.

Yamen Hussein, a Syrian human rights activist based in Germany, sees ideological motivation "built on the notion of violating the defeated side." The goal, he argues, is "spreading fear among Alawite women."

But there's also opportunism. A "general climate of impunity" has encouraged groups with no ideological motive to carry out kidnappings for financial gain or personal vendettas, Hussein notes.

The Silence of Survivors

For survivors, trauma extends beyond physical assault to social stigma and ongoing fear. Leen lives in constant anxiety, fearing knocks at the door. Nesma's marriage collapsed. "I would scream in my sleep," says Ramia, who continues therapy but struggles with insomnia.

According to the Syrian Feminist Lobby, 16 women—all Alawite—remain missing. Amnesty International's Kristine Beckerle notes that in "almost all" documented cases, families "received no meaningful updates and no credible sense of progress on investigations."