The ŞifaJin (Healing of Women) healing and health center opened in Jinwar on March 4, 2020. In addition to rooms for treatments, consultations, educational work, and the production of natural remedies, the project also includes a garden where medicinal herbs are cultivated, as well as an ambulance. Women from Jinwar and the surrounding villages work together at ŞifaJin with the goal of collecting and reviving traditional natural healing knowledge, and combining it with modern knowledge and treatment methods. We experienced the importance of this approach in the very first days: While the coronavirus pandemic was spreading worldwide and many hospitals in our region were closed due to a lack of treatment options, Şîfajin opened its doors to the community to treat and educate women and children in particular. In the first few months, over 2,000 women and children from the surrounding villages came to ŞifaJin because they could find support and solutions to their problems here.
Health assistance
The ŞifaJin health center pursues the approach of providing treatment for women, as well as support during pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare. A particular focus is on raising women’s awareness of their own bodies and strengthening their health and self-determination. In addition to treating physical ailments, we attach great importance to a holistic understanding of the connection between social and psychological factors in the development of illnesses. Many illnesses are caused by patriarchal social structures, violence, stress, conditions of war, displacement, and poverty. ŞifaJin is therefore also a place where women can discuss their problems and fears, become aware of the causes of their pain, and support each other in finding solutions.
ŞifaJin has become an example of how local women’s health projects can be small but significant steps toward building an alternative, self-determined, and holistic healthcare system by and for women. ŞifaJin has also inspired the establishment of other women’s health centers, naturopathy projects, and medicinal herb gardens in various cantons of the North and East Syria Region, and even in other countries. Our goal is to further strengthen networking, exchange, and collaboration with all of these projects.
1. Natural medicines
Natural Medicines made by women in Şîfajin
2. Curative herbs and plants
