Three years ago, the women in Zabadani, Syria, lived normal lives.
Manal, 42, was as an activist and cared for her three children at home with her husband. Noor, 38, also lived with her two children and worked as an activist and painter. Down the road was 37-year-old Sara, a mother of five, who worked as a teacher.
Momenah and Ghada were kindergarten teachers, and lived nearby with their children. Raghad, a 26-year-old engineer, and Amal, a doctor who worked in their local hospital, also lived in the area.
Today the lives of these seven women are no longer ordinary.
Months of regime airstrikes, barrel bombs, and ground attacks by Hezbollah destroyed their homes. The Assad regime blocked the supply of food and humanitarian aid into the city, near Damascus, and prevented people from leaving the area. Those who did manage to escape were frequently harassed, detained, or even killed.
Manal's husband was killed by an aerial bombing. Noor's and Ghada's husbands were arrested by regime forces in 2013. Sara's husband still lives in the besieged city with her son: They cannot leave because they might get arrested at the checkpoints.
The seven women were displaced to nearby small villages that are also being subjected to heavy bombardment.
"We are mothers, sisters, and daughters who lost their loved ones; we have been severely affected by the ongoing conflict," the women told BuzzFeed News, and asked that we share photos of their children instead of themselves. "The savage campaign against our city has left people there with no food, no medicine, no medical care."
Manal said that she, her mother, and her sister-in-law eat one meal a day while the children can have two meals, but they must "forget about milk and bread".
"Before the war, we never suffered," Manal said. "As women in our city, we never faced any kind of discrimination either. We lived a normal life and, like so many others in Syria, we've suffered from dictatorship and corruption."
Manal and the others have since inspired hundreds of women in the area to join them in taking a stand against the violence that has engulfed their city. In doing so they are risking their lives.
"We believe in our abilities as women to make a real change," they told BuzzFeed News. "Men also support us, and rely on us. They always bless our efforts by saying: 'God bless you, go on.'"
In August, the women wrote and publicly signed a statement demanding an end to the destruction in their city, an immediate and long-term ceasefire, and access to medical provisions for those who are injured or in need of healthcare.
Last week, the initiative was backed by the US Department of State.
News of the grassroots campaign led by the seven women spread across the world. As support for it grew, it caught the attention from leaders in the US who praised their efforts.
John Kirby, a Department of State spokesperson, said the US is "deeply concerned" about the thousands of Syrian civilians trapped in Zabadani.
In a statement he said: "In the face of this continued onslaught and at great personal risk, hundreds of women from Zabadani recently signed a joint plea for a ceasefire that would respect humanitarian principles, allow for the safe passage and evacuation of wounded persons, unconditional humanitarian aid, an end to arbitrary arrests, and a negotiated peace. We praise these courageous Syrian women who are working to end the violence, and we support their efforts to bring stability and respect for human rights to their community."
The women, once unknown and living normal lives, had now made some of the most powerful people across the world sit up and take notice of what was happening to their city.
"We are a group of women from Zabadani, Syria, who have suffered during the last three years from bombing, arbitrary detention, killings and discrimination based on regional identity," they wrote in the statement. "We demand that all the forces involved in the siege on Zabadani and its neighboring areas find a permanent solution that guarantees protection for all as well as an immediate end to the violence."
The group then detailed what it was they wanted, with a personal "cry" on behalf of various women from the city:
– "Montaha's Cry is to protect the besieged civilians. She is a mother from Zabadani whose 19-year-old child is trapped in a besieged area. He has never carried a weapon. Montaha demands the safety of her child and her right to save his life."
– "Layla's Cry is for the sake of injured people. She is a 70-year-old woman from Zabadani. She was shot by a sniper at the Hekmeh checkpoint. She cannot leave Zabadani and she has been obliged to change her place of residence more than once to save her life."
– "Manal's Cry is for the sake of sick people as she herself has cancer and lives in Madaya. She has experienced discrimination in the form of lack of access to healthcare services and inability to move freely simply because of the fact she is from Zabadani."
– "Amal's Cry if to save lives. She is a doctor from Zabadani in her forties. She gives people hope by remaining in Zabadani despite the siege to provide medical care and attempting to help injured people and do her human duty."
When the civil uprising began in March 2011, the women played a major role.
The group told BuzzFeed News that when military actions started to intensify and humanitarian conditions deteriorated due to the siege and bombardment, the women helped in hospitals, founded alternative schools, and taught children, as the schools were either destroyed or impossible to get to because of snipers. Another way they said they helped was by planting vegetables in home gardens.
But as the regime responded to the movement with military force, and the uprising turned into an armed conflict, the women's roles changed.
"We became concerned with human needs and doing our best to stop the fighting. We have worked and are still working to fill the gaps that tear the community in spite of the harsh living circumstances," they added.
"We want to put an end to the war."
The women said they wished for the outside world and governments to pay attention to their initiative and "support it effectively" so people are aware that the major threat to them isn't just ISIS, but the regime, Iran, and Hezbollah.
"We want people to talk about our initiative so the world knows exactly what is happening in Syria."
