ALEPPO, Syria — More than five years into a raging war in Syria, Syrian women are shouldering a very heavy burden. Some see their rights violated when they are detained and others are displaced in refugee camps. Many of them have lost a husband or son.

In a report issued on March 20, 2013 — the latest available on Syrian mothers, issued on the eve of Mother’s Day in Syria — the Syrian Network for Human Rights indicated that at least 54,000 women had lost their husbands, including 40,000 mothers. The rest are widows with no children. The report counted 35,000 married men who have died for certain, while 19,000 have disappeared, leaving their wives unknowing whether their husbands will return.

Syrian women who have lost their husbands in the fighting or from shelling or arrest are living a tragedy. In Syria, women often rely completely on men, who work to provide for the family. The woman’s role is restricted to caring for the children and attending to housework. Therefore, when a Syrian woman loses her husband, it is hard for her to adapt to the new situation, especially if she has more than one child.

Under these circumstances, these women have to become providers to support their children in a deteriorating economic situation in the country due to the war. To help them, activists in the part of Aleppo that is under the Syrian opposition’s control established the Balqis Center in November 2015. The center trains women in work skills and empowers them to build a profession and become active, self-reliant members of society.