This year for “16 days” we highlight 16 basic rights that women and girls are so often denied in the places where we work, as well as the ways IRC supports women and girls in claiming their rights and acting as agents of change in their communities.

The months-long siege of eastern Aleppo ended in mid-December as Syrian government forces wrested control of areas that had been held by rebels. The intensifying bombing of these neighborhoods in the weeks before the ceasefire forced many residents to shelter underground, and tens of thousands to flee.