{"id":17512,"date":"2026-03-05T10:22:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/?p=17512"},"modified":"2026-03-05T10:48:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T10:48:29","slug":"when-women-find-safe-spaces-support-her-rise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/when-women-find-safe-spaces-support-her-rise\/","title":{"rendered":"[:el]\u0391\u03c6\u03b9\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03b1 Support Her Rise | \u0399\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c1\u03af\u03b5\u03c2 \u0394\u03cd\u03bd\u03b1\u03bc\u03b7\u03c2: \u038c\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd \u03bf\u03b9 \u0393\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03af\u03ba\u03b5\u03c2 \u0392\u03c1\u03af\u03c3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u0391\u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03bb\u03b5\u03af\u03c2 \u03a7\u03ce\u03c1\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2[:en]Support Her Rise Tribute | Stories of Strength: When Women Find Safe Spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">International Women\u2019s Day honors the strength and voice of women, while also reminding us of the challenges many still face. This year, we dedicate our tribute to the women we meet through the initiatives of SolidarityNow, women who, despite the difficulties, continue to claim their lives with strength and hope.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Within this context, initiatives that create spaces of safety and empowerment become especially important. The project \u201cFemale Forward \u2013 Together for Women\u2019s Inclusion\u201d, implemented by SolidarityNow, creates Female Friendly Spaces in three accommodation facilities for asylum seekers in Northern Greece. Through these spaces, vulnerable women are offered opportunities for skills development, creative expression, social connection, and inclusion.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In these Spaces, women from different countries come together, each carrying their own unique experiences. They share stories and build supportive bonds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Two of them are I. and S.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>I.\u2019s story<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I.is from Syria and has been in Greece for about a year. She lives at the Polykastro accommodation site for asylum seekers with her five minor children and is a single parent.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Every day, she carries the responsibility of raising and protecting her children. Her difficult experiences have left their mark, making her hesitant and cautious toward others. The safety and survival of her children are always her absolute priority.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Through her participation in activities at Female Friendly Space, I. discovered something she realized she had never had before: time for herself in a place of self-care, creativity, and discovery of her abilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As she says: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em>\u201cI found a place where I can relax and feel good\u2026 I found my family.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Today, I. is an example of strength and perseverance for the other women participating in the activities. Despite the difficulties, she continues to dream of a better world.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><strong><em>\u201cI want a world that has room for all of us\u2026 and where I will never be separated from my children. I want them to always be strong and healthy, and for us to live in a home full of flowers.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>S.\u2019s story<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">S., 67 years old, arrived in Greece about a year ago with her husband and their adult son. She also has other children who live very far away. She comes from Palestine and lives at the Polykastro accommodation site.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When she learned that there was a space dedicated exclusively to women, she immediately wanted to join. At the time, she was experiencing intense loneliness. She spent most of her day inside the container where she lives and was looking for a way to socialize and spend her time creatively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As she explains: <\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><em>\u201cIt helps me a lot to forget my worries\u2026 I haven\u2019t seen my children for fifteen years. My<\/em> <em>family<\/em> <em>is<\/em> <em>scattered<\/em><em>.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In the Female Friendly Space, she found something very meaningful: companionship, conversation, and moments of everyday joy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Her favorite activity is meeting with the other women, sharing their news, laughing, and drinking tea together, a habit that reminds her of life in her home country. At the same time, she particularly enjoys artistic activities and handicrafts, which help her relax and express herself creatively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Through the discussions and activities, she continues to learn new things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u201cThrough our conversations, I learned the story behind International Women\u2019s Day,\u201d <\/em>she says. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Her greatest wish is for a world without war and to be reunited with her family.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong><em>\u201cI want a world without war, with freedom for all people\u2026 and to be able to see my children again.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>When support becomes community<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I. and S. are two of the many women we meet every day in the areas where Female Forward is implemented. In the Women\u2019s Safe Spaces, women with different life stories find a place where they can feel accepted, build relationships of trust, and support one another.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Through these small everyday moments of connection and empowerment, something bigger is created: a community that brings light and hope for the future, even in a world full of uncertainty.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">*The project \u201cFemale Forward \u2022 Together for Women\u2019s Inclusion\u201d<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">is funded by the Kahane Foundation.<\/span><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>International Women\u2019s Day honors the strength and voice of women, while also reminding us of the challenges many still face. This year, we dedicate our tribute to the women we meet through the initiatives of SolidarityNow, women who, despite the difficulties, continue to claim their lives with strength and hope. Within this context, initiatives that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,17,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-human-homepage","category-human-stories"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17512"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17512\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17517,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17512\/revisions\/17517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.solidaritynow.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}