Suheir al-Atassi ( ar, سهير الأتاسي, Suhair al-ʾAtāsī; born 1971) is the leading female
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
activist in the
Syrian opposition, and co-vice-president of the
between November 2012 and December 2013. She has been called the "Lady of the Revolution" and is widely respected in secular and intellectual circles within the Syrian opposition structure. She had previously run the media wing of the banned
Jamal Atassi Forum, which was named after her father, a founding member of the
Ba'ath Party who later left and founded the
Democratic Arab Socialist Union
The Democratic Arab Socialist Union ( ar, الاتحاد الاشتراكي العربي الديمقراطي, ''Al-ittiḥād al-ishtirākī al-'arabī al-dīmūqrāṭī''; French: ''Union arabe socialiste démocratique'') is a Nasserist democ ...
.
Suheir Atassi was born in Damascus in 1971 to a prominent
political family from
Homs. She is daughter of
Jamal al-Din al-Atassi, prominent
pan-Arabist
Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...
in Syria. She studied
French literature
French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...
and education at the
University of Damascus
The University of Damascus ( ar, جَامِعَةُ دِمَشْقَ, ''Jāmi‘atu Dimashq'') is the largest and oldest university in Syria, located in the capital Damascus and has campuses in other Syrian cities. It was founded in 1923 through ...
, and was active in the
Damascus Spring
The Damascus Spring ( ar, ربيع دمشق, ) was a period of intense political and social debate in Syria which started after the death of President Hafiz al-Asad in June 2000 and continued to some degree until autumn 2001, when most of the act ...
, helping to form and run the Jamal al-Atassi Forum. She revived the forum online in 2009 in order to help promote
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
and human rights in Syria. On 16 March 2011 she was arrested for her activities. After her release, she had to go into hiding before fleeing Syria to Jordan and then France.
In December 2013 Atassi resigned as Vice-President of the exile 'National Coalition' after the Assistance Coordination Unit, an opposition aid agency, went on strike over claims of mismanagement of aid delivery and funding. She said she would keep her position as chairwoman for the Assistance Coordination Unit, based in Turkey. On 25 April 2018, Atassi resigned from the National Coalition itself, citing the SNC's relations with
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
References
Living people
Syrian democracy activists
Syrian dissidents
Syrian feminists
Syrian secularists
Anti-government politicians of the Syrian civil war
Prisoners and detainees of Syria
1971 births
People from Damascus
Suheir
Syrian people of Turkish descent
Former National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces members
21st-century Syrian women politicians
21st-century Syrian politicians
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