“Silent war”

It is an accusation – stifled, yet deafening.

A silent cry whose convulsions tear through prison walls, basements and the corridors of death. It is the cry of the Syrian women who have been raped over the past six years, from the jails of Bashar al-Assad to those of Islamic State.

This is a crime against humanity which everyone has ignored. It is organised and premeditated, based on one of the most fundamental taboos of traditional Syrian society. It plays on the assumption that the victims will remain silent, convinced that they risk being rejected, or even condemned to death, by their own family. Thousands of Syrian women share this terrible double burden, locked in the solitude of their silent pain and believing they are “guilty of being a victim”.

The use of rape as a weapon of war in Syria is also the war crime which is mentioned the least. It is used both to destroy the woman and her sense of identity, and to break up her family, her clan and thus any form of resistance.

How has the female body become a theatre of war? That is the question raised by this film, which gives voice to women who have until now been imprisoned in silence and shame. Their rarely heard stories are remarkable and heart-breaking.

Duration: 70 min

The documentary will be followed by an exchange with Manon Loizeau.

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Screenings will take place at
Pavillon Prix Bayeux-Calvados
Place Gauquelin-Despallières