Despite the raging war in their country, women in a small Syrian village wanted to be part of the International Women Day commemoration.

About 150 women in Idlib province met in the cellar of a building they had embellished with banners calling for freedom and Syrian revolutionary flags.

Large gatherings are held in this cellar to protect the participants from shelling and stray bullets.

The local women’s centre, Mazaya, organised the event and honoured women who were at the forefront of the protest movement against the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Mazaya was founded in 2013 to train dozens of women in workshops ranging from literacy to first aid, sewing, languages and computer skills.

“Ever since the revolution became armed, people started forgetting that women were at the forefront of protests, holding banners and screaming slogans before the men,” Ghalia Rahhal, the head of Mazaya, told Global News Insight.

“We cannot marginalise these women and forget about them. This event was held to honour them.”