Photos: Women of the Syrian conflict

Aisha, 45, was paralyzed after a sniper shot her while she was shopping in Aleppo. She is largely confined to a first-floor bed in the home she now shares with her family in Gaziantep, Turkey. She is one of 17 women profiled by Human rights Watch in a new report on the victimization of women in the Syrian conflict. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Amal, 44, stands with her only remaining child, in the park where the family slept after arriving in Kilis, Turkey. After an Aleppo bombing killed four of their five children, Amal’s husband suffered a stroke that left him paralyzed on one side; the family left Syria in search of medical care for him. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Kinda, 28, wears a wedding dress in a southern Turkey shop, April 2014. In 2012, government forces detained her and three other women after they marched in homemade wedding dresses as “Brides of Peace” in Damascus’ old souk, calling for an end to violence and killing of civilians in Syria. They were held for almost three months. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Salwa, 40, and her daughter Kafaa, 5, suffered severe burns when a cooking oil canister caught fire in their kitchen during an aerial attack on their neighborhood in Aleppo. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Government forces detained Maisa, 30, an intensive care nurse, after they discovered she was providing medical aid to the wounded and hosting an anti-government television show. While she was in government detention, the Islamic State detained her sister, Samar. Here Maisa holds a sign appealing for her sister’s release. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Maha, 28, left, lost her husband of only a few weeks in a government shelling in November 2012. Her sister Nuha, 23, right, also an activist, was kidnapped by pro-government in August 2012 and held for 23 days. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Tiba, 36, a primary school teacher in Aleppo, now teaches at a school for Syrian children in Kilis, Turkey, where she is the main breadwinner for her refugee family. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch

Government soldiers detained Nayla, 52, at a checkpoint after they discovered she was transporting a military defector. She was tortured and kept in solitary confinement for several days in one of Damascus’ Air Force Intelligence branches, where she was held for 7 months. Samer Muscati / Human Rights Watch