ZEYNEB XELÎF

Deir ez-Zor- The women living in the rural areas of the city of Deir ez-Zor, NE Syria, are responsible for planting and reaping barley and wheat crops.  The women reaping the crops in the hot weather do everything communally.

Communal life unites them

Nûr El-Amaş, who lives in a village of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate’s Hajin city, complains about this year’s low quantity of crops. “We make a living from agriculture. We mainly plant wheat and cotton on approximately 13 acres. After waking up, we do the housework and then we work in the fields.” Stating that women in the village help each other with a communal spirit, Nûr El-Amaş told us that they work together with their neighbors and relatives in the village until the harvest season is over. “Communal life in the village unites us,” she said.

Water shortage affects the crops

Rîm El-Amaş, who lives in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, told us that the quantity of wheat is very low this year because of the insufficient rainfall and the low water level of the Euphrates River. “We reap wheat crops despite the hot weather. Some use modern machines to harvest their crops. But we cannot afford to use these machines. For this reason, we reap the crops with our hands,” she told us.

Women make a living from agriculture

Nûr El-Esa told us that they make a living from planting and reaping wheat crops. Underlining that women are responsible for planting and reaping crops, she said that women are tied to the land.