Syrian Women
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Women in Syria are active participants in social, economic and political factions of Syrian society. They constitute 49.9% of
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
's population. According to World Bank data from 2021, there are around 10.6 million women in Syria. However, Syrian women and girls still experience challenges, especially since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. They suffer from discrimination, lack of access to suitable healthcare and challenges precipitated by wartime violence.


History


Ancient Syria

There is an agreement amongst scholars that the earlier,
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
n era of women were afforded greater personal liberties prior to the rise of the Akkid Empire in the areas of northern Syria. It was in the years following this that the status of women evolved into a more subordinated class against their male counterparts.


Ottoman Empire

During the Ottoman Empire, Syrian women's roles were confined privately, with limited access to education and life on the outside. However, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was an increase of feminist voices in Syria. These voices played roles as part of social and political transformations across the empire. Women became influenced by intellectual movements and reform efforts. Most women started to participate more actively in public discourse. They used their writing and organizing skills and pushed towards issues on education and women's rights. Publications such as Al Fatat and women-led salons were important in creating early feminist ideas. Although they were limited because of traditional norms and patriarchal structures, this period laid the foundation for Syria's modern feminist movements, which continues to improve movements and confidence, following the fall of the Ottoman Empire.


Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon

During the
Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...
(1923–1946), the
Syrian-Lebanese Women's Union {{Short description, Women's organization in Lebanon and Syria The Syrian-Lebanese Women's Union (al-Ittihad al-Nisa'i al-Suri al-Lubnani) was a women's organization in Lebanon and Syria, founded in the 1920s and active until 1946. It has also be ...
united one of the earliest women's movements in Middle East in both Lebanon and Syria. In 1928, Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the
Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or
hijab Hijab (, ) refers to head coverings worn by Women in Islam, Muslim women. Similar to the mitpaḥat/tichel or Snood (headgear), snood worn by religious married Jewish women, certain Christian head covering, headcoverings worn by some Christian w ...
, arguing that
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
requires women to be treated equally with men. In 1930, the First Eastern Women's Congress was hosted in Damascus by the
Syrian-Lebanese Women's Union {{Short description, Women's organization in Lebanon and Syria The Syrian-Lebanese Women's Union (al-Ittihad al-Nisa'i al-Suri al-Lubnani) was a women's organization in Lebanon and Syria, founded in the 1920s and active until 1946. It has also be ...
.


Baathist era

In 1963, the
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women. The year 2011 marked the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, which saw many civilians fall victim to attacks targeting hospitals, schools, and infrastructure. Extremist rebel groups, such as
Jabhat al-Nusra Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra or Jabhat Nusrat Ahl al-Sham, also known as Front for the Conquest of the Levant, and also later known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham was a Salafi-jihadist organization that fought against Ba'athist regime forces ...
and
ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
, have enforced strict policies restricting the freedoms of women in territories they control.


Feminist and women's rights movements


Pre-Baathist regime

The Syrian feminist movement essentially began towards the end of the 19th-century, during the time period in which modern Lebanon and Syria were occupied by the Ottoman Empire. It was during the time of Arabic ''Nahba'', or awakening, in which what some women began to pioneer movements in the interests of their rights and liberties. Women like
Maryana Marrash Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: , ; 1848–1919), also known as Maryana al-Marrash or Maryana Marrash al-Halabiyah, was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda or the Arab Renaissance. She revived the tradition of lite ...
in the 1870s called for the liberation of women in public forums like newspapers, as well as contributing to journals with her articles and poems. In 1920, the feminist
Mary Ajami Mary Ajami ( / ; 1888 – 25 December 1965) was a Syrian poet and pioneering feminist writer in Arabic, who launched the first women's periodical in West Asia, titled ''Al-'Arus'' (). Biography Ajami was born to a large Greek Orthodox Church ...
presented a petition to the Syrian Congress of 1920 during the
Faisal Faisal, Faisel, Fayçal or Faysal () is an Arabic given name. Faisal, Fayçal or Faysal may also refer to: People * King Faisal (disambiguation) ** Faisal I of Iraq and Syria (1885–1933), leader during the Arab Revolt ** Faisal II of Iraq (19 ...
-Government, but the subject was postponed and forgotten after the fall of the Faisal regime. When the petition of women's suffrage was discussed in the Syrian Congress in 1920,
Shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
Abd al-Qadir al-Kaylani stated that to given women the right to vote would be the same thing as abolish sex segregation and allow women to appear unveiled.Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p.128 In 1936, the
Arab Women's Union of Damascus The Union of Women's Societies in Damascus (Ittihad al-jamiyyat al-nisaiyya fi Dimashq) was a women's organization in Syria, founded in 1933. It was founded under the name Arab Women's Union in Damascus (Ittihad al-Arabi al-nisa i fi Dimashq), but ...
presented a women's suffrage petition to President
Hashim al-Atassi Hashim al-Atassi (; 11 January 1875 – 5 December 1960) was a Syrian politician and statesman who served as the President of Syria on three occasions from 1936 to 1939, 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1955. Background and early career He was bo ...
and to President
Shukri al-Quwatli Shukri al-Quwatli (; 6 May 189130 June 1967) was a Syrian politician and statesman who was the first president of post-independence Syria, in 1943. He began his career as a dissident working towards the independence and unity of the Ottoman Em ...
, as well as directly to the Parliament. When the influential feminist
Adila Bayhum Adila Bayhum-al-Jazairi (; 1900–1975) was a Syrian (originally Lebanese) feminist, independence activist and philanthropist. She was a pioneer of the Syrian women's movement, as well as supporter of Syrian independence from France. Life She was ...
gave her support to
Husni al-Za'im Husni al-Za'im ( ''Ḥusnī az-Za’īm''; 11 May 1897 – 14 August 1949) was a Syrian military officer of Kurdish origins who served as head of state of Syria in 1949. He had been an officer in the Ottoman Army. After France instituted its co ...
, he promised her to introduce women's suffrage when he came to power in 1949, and the reform was finally introduced in 1953.


Baathist regime

The movement continued into the years up to the Syrian coup d'état in 1963. Regimes like Assad's, Jadid's and Bashar's sought to either ban or contain the feminist movements, which arguably slowed their progression. In 1967, Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the
General Union of Syrian Women The General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW) is an organization founded in 1967 with the goal of mobilizing Syrian women by helping them to develop and further their education, political activism, and other skills to become more effective contributors ...
(GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.


Post Baathist regime

After the outbreak of civil war, some Syrian women have joined all-female brigade units in the
Syrian Arab Army The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air D ...
, the Democratic Union Party, and the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
, taking on roles such as snipers, frontline units, or police.


Legal rights and engagement

While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century,
personal status Legal status describes the legal rights, duties and obligations of a person or entity, or a subset of those rights and obligations. (defining "status") The term may be used to describe a person's legal condition with respect to personal rights, bu ...
law is still based on
Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
and applied by Sharia Courts. Syria has a dual legal system which includes both secular and religious courts. Marriage contracts are between the groom and the bride's father, and Syrian law does not recognize the concept of
marital rape Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of dome ...
. When discussing the acquisition and signification of citizenship in Syria, the obtaining of Syrian citizenship did not automatically enable women to gain full access to every right, one of the most notable ones being within the realm of family la

Syrian family law thus has a large impact on the legal rights of women.
Public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations and affairs between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that ...
states that all Syrian citizens are equal. However, family law has judicial primacy in defining women's personal status. In certain cases, family law can invalidate
constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in ...
. Although there were efforts to secularize the legal system of most Arab states in the 1920s, family law is still heavily influenced by religion and has an impact on the private domain in cases such as marriage, divorce, and child custody. In 2002, Syria signed the
CEDAW The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. Described as an international bill of rights for women, it was instituted ...
but set reservations related to family law. One of the most impactful developments in personal and family law in regards to the inheritance of wealth and land as a Syrian woman manifested in the set of decrees and laws issued between 2012 and 2018:
Decree Number 66

Decree Number 63

Decree Number 19

Law Number 10
Many of these overlapped with the Assad regimes agenda to combat dissent against the regime, and to institutionalise conformity. They provided a legal cover for the exploitation of private citizen property, and made it incredibly difficult for widows, divorcées or wives and family members of the kidnapped to claim ownership over property and inheritance.


Engagement

In 2017, Women made up 30% of the judicial corps in Syria, which is an increase of almost double from before the revolution, in which only 15% of the judicial corps were women. Because of the conflict, and a subsequent loss of male figures to the conflict, women have, in some cases, stepped into positions of authority. As of February 2021, the third and most recent cohort studying at the Higher Institute of Judicial Studies was mostly women, with 28 out of 49 trainees. Women's engagement in Syria's legal and political areas has been significant despite the amount of uncertainty present. In the context of the country's ongoing conflict and disrupted government, women have held influential roles as judges and legal professionals in opposition-controlled areas. This challenges traditional gender roles in spaces that have historically been dominated by men. However, the future of female legal professionals in post-Assad Syria remains uncertain, due to the concerns that were made during the conflict, such as women presiding over Sharia courts or leading legal initiatives. This may be reversed amid shifting political landscapes and conservative pressures. Despite these challenges, the active participation of women in Syria's judicial and civil society positions truly captures their resilience and determination to shape the country's future and improve their voice.


Education

Between 1970 and the late 1990s, the number of girls in the education system dramatically increased due to the Ba'ath Parties initiative to combat illiteracy. The change was evident in primary schools, high schools and universities. Nevertheless, there are still ninety five women to every one hundred men. The dropout rate for women is much higher than for men. Prior to the conflict, Syria's education system was far more developed. After reaching the fifth year of the conflict, an estimated 50% of all school-age children were no longer attending school. According to data from the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, 46.8% of girls and 39.8% of boys complete lower secondary school in the Syrian Arab Republic as of 2022. The gap in completion rate is larger than the gap of the Middle East and North Africa aggregate. According to the
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
, reports show at least 650 cases of educational facilities being attacked or exploited for military purposes. The literacy rate for women is 74.2 percent and 91 percent for men. The rate of females over 25 with secondary education is 29.0 percent.


Politics

In Syria, women were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for
Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats. Historically, there are cases of women contributing to societal and political change within Syria. During the
Arab spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...
, for example, women protested for change and in spite of arrests continued to take action, despite being socially oppressed by their male counterparts. During the height of the conflict period, women's rights and liberties became increasingly difficult to protect, and it became a goal of peace negotiations to establish a legal framework that would contribute to the protection of the rights of women. In October 2000, the passage of U.N. SCR 1325 was passed, and became a turning point for the issue of Women, Peace and Security. Adopted after the Security Council issued a presidential statement on
International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...
in March, it was acknowledged that there was a strong relationship between gender equality and peace building enterprises.
2002 report on Women, Peace and Security
also recommended implementing greater measures in including women in the process of peace negotiations. Women have not overtly engaged with direct governmental contact and influence, but instead interact more with the informal negotiation process through non-governmental organisations and intergovernmental institutions. The CFR Women's Power Index states that since 1946, there have been 0 female heads of state, and that Syria's political parity score is ranked as 177th in the world. The current president of Syria is a male. There are also two vice presidents (including female vice president
Najah al-Attar Najah al-Attar (; born 10 January 1933) is a Syrian politician who served as the vice president of Syria from 2006 to 2024. She was the first Arab woman to have held the post. Previously she was minister of culture from 1976 to 2000. Early life ...
since 2006), a prime minister and a cabinet. As of 2012, in the national parliament men held 88% of the seats while women held 12%. The
Syrian Parliament Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, a People's Assembly (, ) is expected to be formed in Syria. During the Ba'athist Syria, Ba'athist era, the assembly consisted of 250 members elected for four-year terms across 15 multi-sea ...
was previously led by female
Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...
Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, the first woman to have held that position. President Assad's political and media adviser is
Bouthaina Shaaban Bouthaina Shaaban (; born 1953) is a Syrian politician who served as political and media adviser to the presidency under Bashar al-Assad until his overthrow in 2024. Shaaban had also previously served as the first Minister of Expatriates for th ...
. Shaaban served as the first Minister of Expatriates for the
Syrian Arab Republic Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, between 2003 and 2008, and she has been described as the Syrian government's face to the outside world. Of the civil society representatives among the 150 members of the
Syrian Constitutional Committee The Syrian Constitutional Committee was a United Nations-facilitated constituent assembly process that sought, in the context of the Syrian civil war, to reconcile the Ba'athist regime of President Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian opposition, ...
, which was assembled in 2019 by the Syria Envoy of the United Nations, Syrian women account for around 30%. Several renowned Syrian women, such as academic
Bassma Kodmani Bassma Kodmani (; 29 April 1958 – 2 March 2023) was a Syrian academic and political activist. She was the founder and executive director of the Arab Reform Initiative, a network of independent Arab research and policy institutes working to pro ...
, Sabah Hallak of the Syrian Women's League, the law professor Amal Yazji or the judge Iman Shahoud, sit on the committee's influential 'Small' or Drafting Body.


Role in the economy and the military

Following the French occupation in 1946, Syria gained independence after two decades of revolutions and independence movements, in which women played an important role. After the institution of the Ba'ath party in the 1963, universal socio-political policies were adopted which saw significant improvements in the country's development indices like health and education, but also in public sanitation, water, energy and infrastructure. In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare. However, women's involvement in the workforce is low; according to
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
, in the Syrian Arab Republic, the labor force participation rate among females is 14.1%, and among males its 63.6% as of 2023. This being said, they play an important role in the public sector when it comes to health and education roles. Furthermore, vulnerable employment for females has improved since 1991, according to the World Bank. Workers in vulnerable employment are reportedly less likely to engage in formal working arrangements, and are more susceptible to the consequences of economic shock. Amongst women, vulnerable employment is 8.3%, and 40.4% amongst men as of 2022. For women, this average is lower than the Middle East and North Africa. Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily. The female militias of Syria are trained to fight for the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. A video was found dating back to the 1980s with female soldiers showing their pride and protectiveness toward Assad's father. "Because women are rarely involved in the armed side of the revolution, they are much less likely to get stopped, searched, or hassled at government checkpoints. This has proved crucial in distributing humanitarian aid throughout Syria." However, the case of
violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence (GBV) or sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), violent, violence primarily committed by Man, men or boys against woman, women or girls. Such violence is often considered hat ...
is often used as tool of political and social repression, geared to intimidate and manipulate communities. There are cases of forced recruitment into militias, kidnapping, rape, torture, forced detention and the denial of fair trials that put women at great risk of exploitation.


Women's health

In 2020, the World Bank estimated the
life expectancy Human life expectancy is a statistical measure of the estimate of the average remaining years of life at a given age. The most commonly used measure is ''life expectancy at birth'' (LEB, or in demographic notation ''e''0, where '' ...
of Syrian women as 76 years, in comparison to 69 years for men. This number has increased significantly since the mid-2010s. The number of women that survive to the age of 65 has also increased: from 73% in 2014 to 84% in 2020. The adolescent fertility rate has decreased since 2015. 39 in every 1000 girls between the ages of 15 and 20 gave birth in 2020. This was lower than previous years and lower than the average rate in the same income group. Despite the improvement of these numbers, there is still a high need for action to lessen the suffering of women and girls as a result of the ongoing crisis in Syria. The
United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...
stated in 2022 that 7.3 million women and girls need life-saving sexual and reproductive health care due to hostile circumstances, drought, economic collapse, and displacement. An example is maternal care, because the number of women that die during pregnancy and childbirth is on the rise and higher in Syria than in neighboring countries. It is reported that an estimated 450,000 women do not have access to sexual and reproductive healthcare as of June 202

Data from the World Bank offers the figures that 39 of every 1,000 girls ages 15–19 gave birth in the Syrian Arab Republic in 2021. In addition to low access to healthcare services, the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria, COVID-19 pandemic regulations saw staff and patients alike being mistreated and underfunded, and women reported about severe financial limitations and acute concerns about financial and supply insecurity.


Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in women

Following the outbreak of acute conflict in Syria, cases of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in women in the Syrian community, both within the country and in refugee populations, have resulted in correspondence to violence and health insecurity that they faced. War and displacement act as significant catalysts for PTSD, as well as the crimes committed against women such as rape, torture and imprisonment. Women are particularly vulnerable to the psychological consequences of war and can often find themselves deprioritized and undersupported, especially when there is limited healthcare access and funding.


Hijab and free choice of clothing

Historically, sex segregation played an important role in the conservative opposition toward women's choice to not wear the hijab. During the inter war period, there was an intense campaign in Syria about women's rights to choose to not wear a hijab if they did not wish to do so. Since hijab was a form of sex segregation, to stop wearing it met with great opposition by conservatives who viewed it as a form of ending of sex segregation. The right for women to unveil was also a part of the progressive ending of sex segregation, and women's right to participate in society, as well as the question of women's suffrage. During the Ottoman period, women in Syria normally appeared veiled per Islamic custom. This gradually started to change in the early 29th-century. During the visit of the
King–Crane Commission The King–Crane Commission, officially called the 1919 Inter-Allied Commission on Mandates in Turkey, consisting primarily of an American delegation was a commission of inquiry concerning the disposition of areas within the former Ottoman Empir ...
in Damascus in 1919, women's rights activists (of the
Nur al-Fayha Nur al-Fayha ("Light of Damascus"), was a women's rights organization in Syria, active during the Faisal government, between January 1919 and July 1920.Intellectuals and Civil Society in the Middle East: Liberalism, Modernity and Political Discour ...
organization) attended unveiled to demonstrate the progressive modernist ambitions of the Faisal Government. During a nationalist demonstration in Damascus during a visit of Lord Balfour the women demanded the abolition of the veil, which created tension with their male counterparts.Thompson, E. (2000). Colonial Citizens: Republican Rights, Paternal Privilege, and Gender in French Syria and Lebanon. USA: Columbia University Press. p.129 When a petition on women's suffrage was discussed in the Syrian Congress in 1920,
Shaykh Sheikh ( , , , , ''shuyūkh'' ) is an honorific title in the Arabic language, literally meaning "elder (administrative title), elder". It commonly designates a tribal chief or a Muslim ulama, scholar. Though this title generally refers to me ...
Abd al-Qadir al-Kaylani stated that to given women the right to vote would be the same thing as abolish sex segregation and allow women to appear unveiled. Women's rights activists in the modernist Interwar period viewed the veil as a hindrance to women's participation in society as productive citizens, preventing them from benefiting a successful independent nation, and combined their criticism against hijab with their criticism against colonialism.Mapping Arab Women's Movements: A Century of Transformations from Within. (2012). Egypten: American University in Cairo Press. In 1922, during a women's march in protest of the imprisonment of Shahbandar by the French, the participating women removed their veils. In the 1920s, the feminist women's press in Lebanon and Syria published images of unveiled Turkish women and gave room to women's voices when the indigenous press normally avoided to mention or show images of women. The modernization reform program of Atatürk in Turkey abolished sex segregation and encouraged women to unveil as a part of a social revolution in order to make Turkey a modern state. The social revolution in Turkey created a debate in Syria, where Turkish postcards displayed modern unveiled Turkish women, and according to the US Consul in Damascus in 1922: "I am informed that they attract considerable attention in local feminine circles", and the women's magazine Dimashqiya (The New Woman) celebrated Atatürk for his reforms and published photographs of unveiled Turkish woman. An important event in the growing trend of unveiling among upper-class women in Lebanon and Syria in the 1920s was the publication of ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' by Nazira Zeineddine in 1928, which did not consider veiling to be Islamically necessary, which became a great object of controversy in the hijab debate in the Middle East, specifically Lebanon and Syria. In her capacity of daughter to a scholar, she claimed Islam did not demand women to veil. This created great controversy, because it made veiling or unveiling an issue of religion, when previously it had been a question of personal choice; the ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' made unveiling an issue of religion, tradition and culture imperialism, which made the debate much more intense. After the ''al-Sufur wa-l-hijab'' controversy of 1928, unveiling came to be supported by the Francophile upper class and by the Modernist Arab Nationalists, and opposed by the Populist Islamists, while the heated controversy made the organized women's movement to avoid the issue. During the 1920s, upper-class women in Syria started to appear unveiled in public, which caused great opposition from religious conservatives, who sometimes attacked unveiled women with acid. When the conservative Shaykh Taj became prime minister in Damascus in 1928, a campaign started by preachers in the mosques who called upon believers to attack unveiled women, which was followed by men attacking unveiled women on the street with acid; and a women's march against the hijab, which was held in Hamidiya was attacked by a mob. The fact that women started to appear unveiled in public during the Interwar era created great opposition; Islamic conservatives debated on whether women should be allowed to appear in public, and unveiled women were harassed in order to frighten women from accessing the public space. The Islamist group al-gharra demanded that all women be forced to veil completely from head to toe, while the French colonial press condemned the men who made unveiled women afraid to leave their home in fear of violence. As a reaction to the progressive unveiling trend among women, the League of Modesty was founded by conservative women in 1934, whose members patrolled the streets in white shrouds and attacked unveiled women armed with scissors and bottles of acid. In the 1940s, Thuraya Al-Hafez campaigned for women's right to choose if she wished to veil or not. In the summer of 1943, Thuraya Al-Hafez headed a women's march of 100 women to the Marja Square in Damascus demonstrating against hijab, with the claim that the Quran did not demand for women to veil. In 1944, Islamic groups in Syria demanded sex segregation in schools and public transport, to prohibit women from visiting the cinema, and that women be forced to wear hijab by morality police.Meininghaus, E. (2016). Creating Consent in Ba‘thist Syria: Women and Welfare in a Totalitarian State. Storbritannien: Bloomsbury Publishing. p.58 To appease the Islamic groups, the government introduced sex segregation on public transportation in Damascus during religious holidays in 1944. In May 1944, a rumour was spread that a ball attended by unveiled Muslim women was to take place at Nuqtar al-halib. As a response, the Islamic al-ghurra group launched a campaign in the mosques with the demanded that the government stop the ball, and riots occurred in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Hamah. In response, Adila Bayyhum, a member of the Nuqtat al-halib, stopped her philanthropic distribution of milk to the poor until the government threatened to stop their own grain distribution if the Islamic riot campaign did not stop. During the Baathist regime (1963–2024), women were legally free to veil or unveil.


Women during the Syrian civil war

Since the conflict erupted in 2011, women in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, namely in conflict zones, have been facing
violence Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
,
sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
,
forced displacement Forced displacement (also forced migration or forced relocation) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of perse ...
, detention,
domestic violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes r ...
,
child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...
and other violations of their rights. The OCHR reported in June 2023 that female headed households are twice as likely to report a complete inability to meet basic needs in comparison to male-headed household

Furthermore, discriminatory legal practices that existed before the conflict have been exacerbated. Access to housing and property has become even more complex, especially for those widowed or whose husbands have been kidnapped or gone missing. During the years of conflict, insecurity and the economic collapse significantly increased the vulnerability of women and girls. In addition, many girls were left without schooling or access to healthcare services. In 2015, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
gathered evidence of systematic sexual assault of women and girls by combatants in Syria, and this was escalated by the Islamic State (ISIL) and other terrorist organizations. In 2019, according to The Women, Peace and Security Index, Syria was ranked 165 out 167 countries, in terms of women's inclusion in economic, social, and political opportunities, sense of security, and exposure to discrimination.
Sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...
has been recognized as the dominant form of violence experienced by women and girls in
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
since the outbreak of the conflict. This often occurred within their own homes or in detention, alongside other forms of assault such as torture, abduction and at times even murder. This was frequently carried out in the presence of a male relative.


Impact of the conflict on Yezidi women

The Syrian conflict has had a devastating impact on Syria's
Yezidi Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish-speaking endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The majority of Yazidis remaining in ...
people. The Yezidi community, a religious minority group, has faced brutality and persecution at the hands of the extremist group
ISIS Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
, which considers them as 'unbelievers'. Since the groups occupation of the region inhabited by the Yezidis in Northern Syria, thousands of Yezidis have been kidnapped, killed and raped. As a result, many surviving Yezidis fled Syria, leaving behind a divided and heavily traumatized community. During their occupation of the areas inhabited by the Yezidis, Yezidi men were executed on the spot and thousands of women and girls were captured, kidnapped, and detained in ISIL holding sites in Syria. Some of these girls were just 6 years old. They were forced to live in abhorrent conditions and subjected to severe forms o
SGBV
like rape, forced marriages, trafficking, body inspections and forced sexual slavery. Yazidi women and girls were sold at slave markets to ISIL fighters and their families and forced to work as sex slaves, subjected to daily torture, beating and rape. There were also cases of forced marriage between fighters and Yazidi girls, who would also become sex slaves. While a few women were able to escape their kidnappers and reunite with their families, numerous others remain missing, leaving their families uncertain about their fate and whether they are still alive. ISIS's operations of mass kidnapping and
human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
resulted in an estimated 7000 women being victimized and over 3000 women are still missing. Another assault on Yezidi custom manifested through these rapes, in that Yazidi women and men cannot marry someone who does no belong to their group, and the child resulting from any Yezidi union must have two Yazidi parents. Women who bore children as a result of rape and sex-slavery could not easily integrate those children into their community. A notably high number of Yezidi refugees also reportedly suffer from PTSD, with a higher proportion of these sufferers being women.


Honor Killings

Honor killings are acts of violence, which tend to be fatal, committed against women who are seen to have brought shame to their families by disrespecting cultural norms related to sexuality and behavior. These killings are typically carried out by the male members in the family with the purpose of restoring the family's "honor" and reputation. More than 200 honor killings occur annually within Syria. One of the major factors that goes into this violence is also the increase in sexual abuse and molestation going on during the country's ongoing civil disorder, which has intensified the desire for some families to "restore honor" following such incidents. The practice is originated deep in patriarchal traditions that assign men authority over women within the family structure. Men are often considered the protectors and controllers of the family's reputation and resources, while women are expected to uphold their responsibilities through modesty and domestic jobs. In this context, a woman's honor may be considered compromised not only by her sexual activitybut also by behaviors that are considered inappropriate socially, this includes things such as speaking loudly, going into the public without a male escort, or rejecting traditional gender roles. Even women who are single, divorced, or have experienced sexual assault may be seen as having dishonored their families. Honor killings in Syria can take many forms, including murder, psychological abuse, physical assault, and mutilation. These acts are commonly committed by close male relatives who believe they are justified in punishing female family members to safeguard or regain social standing. Women from low-income households are most likely vulnerable to this form of violence due to the lack of resources, social protection, and legal protection. While men can also be victims, cases are significantly less common than those of women. From accusations of sexual relationships or associations, women will still be considered dishonorable. Article 548 of the Syrian Penal Code, which provided leniency for crimes committed in the name of "honor," was repealed in 2020, space in legal protection still is present. Article 192 of the penal code allows judges to consider motives based on "honor" as justifying factors, which most likely reduces the sentences for perpetrators. Furthermore, the legal system continues to treat the condition of life as an indicator of the severity of guilt or crime. This continues to enforce harmful stereotypes and gender biases. Reports between 2019 and November 2022 document at least 14 honor-related killings in areas under Syrian government control, underscoring the ongoing challenges in preventing and prosecuting such acts.


Forced and child marriage

The conflict in Syria has led to an increase in child marriages. The harsh living conditions, the insecurity, and the fear of rape, have led families to force their daughters into early marriages. As a result of early marriage, many girls in Syria are forbidden from completing their studies because when a girl is married she is only expected to be a good wife and a good mother as well. Data from
Girls not Brides Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage is an international non-governmental organization with the mission to end child marriage throughout the world. The organization was created by The Elders to enable small groups from a ...
offers the figures that 13% of Syrian girls are married before the age of 18, and 2% are married before their 15th birthday. Furthermore, the most recent available data shows that child marriage was most prevalent in Daraa (where 26% of women aged 20–49 were married before the age of 18), rural Damascus (25%) and Quneitra (23%). Girls not Brides also states that in 2020, a Patterned Women Committee official, under the Sara Organization for Combatting Violence against Women found that in al-Hasaka province there were 36 reported cases of child marriage in 2020. Child marriage can influence physical and mental health badly. Physical damage can be related to child bearing specially for women under 18 years old and the possibility for not being able to give birth later in life, and in extreme cases it can lead to death. Psychological factors can be defined as difficulties in interacting with the husband or not having enough awareness about marriage life and its responsibilities.


Domestic violence

A study covering the low-income women in Aleppo, an area where domestic abuse is more likely due to the tribal nature of the area, shows that physical abuse (battering at least 3 times in the last year) was found in 23% of the investigated women in 2003, 26% amongst married women. Regular abuse (battering at least once weekly) was found in 3.3% of married women, with no regular abused reported by non-married women. The prevalence of physical abuse amongst country residents was 44.3% compared to 18.8% amongst city residents. In most cases (87.4%) the abuse was inflicted by the husband, and in 9.5% of cases, the abuse was inflicted by more than one person. Correlates of physical abuse were women's education, religion, age, marital status, economic status, mental distress, smoking and residence.


Road to recovery

After the Syrian conflict which occurred in 2011, it caused lots of damage to the physical and mental wellbeing of the women within Syria. Due to the war leaving many dead and displaced, and damaging the infrastructure of homes, it left a lot of women stuck and with lots of confusion on what to do. Government and military efforts only helped for a while, so the women of Syria decided to take their own course of action. Since 2011, the UN Women Regional Office proposed campaigns such as "It Takes A Women". The purpose of this campaign is to raise awareness of the Syrian women activists who are involved within these peace protests. It also encourages stakeholders to take knowledge of women's role in building peace, and engage women in the peacebuilding process.


2025

In 2025, it marks the 25th anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325. This acknowledged the adverse effects that women faced due to conflict. It also resulted in the participation of women in negotiating and peacebuilding processes that would solidify the long last amounts of peace. According to the Wilson Center, there are studies that show that when women are included in the peace negotiations, there is a likeliehood of it last 2 years by 20% and 15 years by 35%. With the establishment of the new Syrian government, women have more of a voice and are able to take part in the leadership roles. Due to the new positions in leadership, the women have begun advocating for more inclusion and representation.


Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava

With the Syrian Civil War, the Kurdish populated area in Northern Syria has gained de facto autonomy as the Federation of Northern Syria - Rojava, with the leading political actor being the progressive Democratic Union Party (PYD). Kurdish women have several armed and non-armed organizations in Rojava, and enhancing women's rights is a major focus of the political and societal agenda. Kurdish female fighters in the
Women's Protection Units The Women's Protection Units (YPJ) or Women's Defense Units is an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed forces of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and Ea ...
(YPJ) played a key role during the
Siege of Kobani A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characte ...
and in rescuing
Yazidis Yazidis, also spelled Yezidis (; ), are a Kurdish languages, Kurdish-speaking Endogamy, endogamous religious group indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and Iran. The major ...
trapped on
Mount Sinjar The Sinjar Mountains (, , ), are a mountain range that runs east to west, rising above the surrounding alluvial steppe plains in northwestern Iraq to an elevation of . The highest segment of these mountains, about long, lies in the Nineveh Gover ...
, and their achievements have attracted international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. The civil laws of Syria are valid in Rojava, as far as they do not conflict with the Constitution of Rojava. One notable example for amendment is personal status law, in Syria still Sharia-based, where Rojava introduced civil law and proclaims absolute equality of women under the law and a ban on
forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...
as well as
polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...
was introduced, while underage marriage was outlawed as well. For the first time in Syrian history,
civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...
is being allowed and promoted, a significant move towards a secular open society and intermarriage between people of different religious backgrounds. The legal efforts to reduce cases of underage marriage, polygamy and
honor killings Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...
are underpinned by comprehensive public awareness campaigns. In every town and village, a women's house is established. These are community centers run by women, providing services to survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and other forms of harm. These services include counseling, family mediation, legal support, and coordinating safe houses for women and children. Classes on economic independence and social empowerment programs are also held at women's houses. All administrative organs in Rojava are required to have male and female co-chairs, and forty percent of the members of any governing body in Rojava must be female. An estimated 25 percent of the
Asayish Asayish (also spelled Asayiş), the Kurdish term for "security", or Asayesh may refer to: *Asayish (Kurdistan Region), the official security organisation of the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq *Asayish (North and East Syria) The Intern ...
police force of the Rojava cantons are women, and joining the Asayish is described in international media as a huge act of personal and societal liberation from an extremely patriarchical background, for ethnic Kurdish and ethnic Arab women alike. The PYD's political agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial in conservative quarters of society.


Women in art and culture


Syria's Radical Dabka

The Dabka has long been tied to the political visions of Syrian state. It is a highly stylized dance practiced throughout Syria and areas of Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine. Whilst its provenance is difficult to trace, many associate it with pre-Islamic village life circular line dancing. The myth is that villagers would prepare for weddings by making mud bricks for the roofs of new households, and the process by which this was achieved was through dozens of people tramping on the soil and thick mid, accompanied by sung poetry, a ''
mijwiz The ''mijwiz'' (, DIN: ''miǧwiz'') is a traditional Middle East musical instrument popular in Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Its name in Arabic means "dual", because of its consisting of two, short, bamboo pipes with reed tips ...
'' reed instrument and ''tabl'' drum. The transformation of this dance into a political agent took place during the mass demonstrations of 2011–12, against the
Assad regime Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the one-party rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. From 1971 until its collapse in 2024, it was rule ...
, in which people were similarly energized by the music and dance. Through musical and visual elements of the Dabka, protesters appealed to the cultural identity of the people with anti-war ballads from contemporary artists. An important part of this dance was maintained in the sense of unity and joy that it provided. The importance of women here is identified in what the woman represents within the nation of
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
from a gendered persepctive. When depicted on stage dancing she became a symbol of joy and prosperity, fostering an idea of
national unity Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...
within the Syrian homeland as a symbol of the union between modernity and tradition, new life and old.


Women in artistic movements

The history of Syrian art is peppered with feminist influences and female voices, starting as early as the late 17th century during which the work of Armenian artists in Aleppo like Hilda Kassis Ajamian, Maral Haira Bidian and Anahid Shahinian went on to contribute to the artistic movements in the 1920s. Women's visual enterprises appeared more acutely in the 1940s, with the first installation exhibition in
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
on the 15th of August 1947, including works from Catherine Massarra, Ramzia Zanbarki and Muti'a Shura, who displayed oil works. Female photography and sculpting was also considered an important social event following the exhibitions of the 1950s and 60s. Artist Leila Nseir, who graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo in 1963 said to interviewer Monzer Masri that she "refused the labels a 'male artist' and a 'female artist'." There was an uptick in women empowering themselves through art and visual mediums, and redefining the traditional definition of femininity within public discourse. At the beginning of the 1980s, the number of Syrian female artists increased, many of which emigrated or moved abroad, especially following the Hama Massacre of 1982. Some scholars denounce the classification of some female work as "feminist", arguing instead that these works have been essentialised as such following later movements from other parts of the world. This considered, the path women took to achieve a voice in the realm of artistic production and distribution was undeniably a symbol of female power.


Street murals in Idlib

Syrian female artists in Syria's northwestern
Idlib province Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the south, ...
have been creating
mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...
s on the blank walls within their communities, using them as a way to communicate messages or images since before the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. Artist Yafa Diab said she had been painting birds, roses and nature until the outbreak of the war, after which she began to paint the concerns of the conflict, as did many other artists. Her painting, the
Eye of the Revolution
'' became an example of the revolutionary stories of war, loss and perseverance that began to be displayed all across the province. The global language of art, as female artist Al-Hamedh told
Syria Direct Syria Direct or Syria:direct (), founded in 2013, is an independent news organization based in Berlin, Germany, that provides news coverage on Syria's war and politics, and trains journalists. It was originally funded in Amman, Jordan by an America ...
, became "a weapon and a tool heused to express eremotion."


Notable women

* Hadiya Khalaf Abbas, Speaker of the
People's Council of Syria Following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, a People's Assembly (, ) is expected to be formed in Syria. During the Ba'athist era, the assembly consisted of 250 members elected for four-year terms across 15 multi-seat constituencies ...
(since 2016). * Asya Abdullah is the co-chairwoman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the leading political party in
Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...
. *
Asma al-Assad Asma Fawaz al-Assad (; Akhras; born 11 August 1975) is the former first lady of Syria, married to Bashar al-Assad. Her husband was president from 2000 until he was overthrown on 8 December 2024. Born and raised in London, to Syrian parents, ...
, the First Lady of Syria and the wife of the former President Assad *
Najah al-Attar Najah al-Attar (; born 10 January 1933) is a Syrian politician who served as the vice president of Syria from 2006 to 2024. She was the first Arab woman to have held the post. Previously she was minister of culture from 1976 to 2000. Early life ...
, Vice President of Syria (since 2006). *
Randa Kassis Randa Kassis () is a Franco-Syrian politician. During the Syrian civil war, she was until 2012 a member of the Syrian National Council. Kassis' husband, Fabien Baussart, is the founder of the think tank Center of Political and Foreign Affairs whi ...
, President of The Astana Platform of the Syrian opposition. *
Suheir Atassi Suheir al-Atassi (; born 1971) is a Syrian secular activist in the Syrian opposition, and co-vice-president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces between November 2012 and December 2013. She has been called the ...
, Vice President of the opposition government. * Samar Al Dayyoub, literary critic and writer *
Khawla Dunia Khawla Dunia () is a Syrian poet, journalist, researcher and humanitarian aid and relief organizer from Damascus, Syria, although her family is originally from the Hama Province of Syria. A self-proclaimed atheist, she is of Alawite background. ...
, opposition activist and poet *
Îlham Ehmed Îlham Ehmed (, ), also rendered as Îlham Ahmed, is a Kurdish politician from Syria and a member of Democratic Union Party currently serving as the co-president of the Executive Council of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North an ...
is co-chairwoman of the
Syrian Democratic Council The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) is the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES). The SDC's stated mission is working towards the implementation of a "Pluralistic, democ ...
. * Hêvî Îbrahîm is the prime minister of
Afrin Canton Afrin Canton (; ; ) was one of the cantons of Rojava. Syria's Afrin District fell under the control of the People's Protection Units (YPG) around 2012 and an "Afrin Canton" (now Afrin Region) was declared in 2014. Afrin Canton in its latest form ...
. *
Samira Khalil Samira Khalil () is a Syrian dissident, former political detainee and a revolutionary activist from the Homs region of Syria. Khalil is currently missing after being abducted in Douma on December 9, 2013, along with fellow activists Razan Zaitou ...
, dissident * Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist. *
Assala Nasri Assala Mostafa Hatem Nasri (; born 15 May 1969), commonly known as Assala (), is a Syrian singer. Early life and career Assala was born in Damascus, Syria to a middle class Arab family. Mostafa Nasri, Assala's father, was a revered composer a ...
is a musical artist * Souad Nawfal, opposition activist and schoolteacher. *
Rasha Omran Rasha Omran () is a Syrian poet. She is one of the most important women Syrian poets and the author of seven poetry collections and an anthology of Syrian poetry. Biography Rasha Omran was born in 1964 in Tartus, Syria, into a family of Alaw ...
, poet *
Bouthaina Shaaban Bouthaina Shaaban (; born 1953) is a Syrian politician who served as political and media adviser to the presidency under Bashar al-Assad until his overthrow in 2024. Shaaban had also previously served as the first Minister of Expatriates for th ...
, Bashar al-Assad's political adviser and previous Minister of Expatriates *
Maryana Marrash Maryana bint Fathallah bin Nasrallah Marrash (Arabic: , ; 1848–1919), also known as Maryana al-Marrash or Maryana Marrash al-Halabiyah, was a Syrian writer and poet of the Nahda or the Arab Renaissance. She revived the tradition of lite ...
, poet, writer and pioneer of female rights during the ''Nahba.'' *
Muna Wassef Muna Wassef (also spelled Mona Wasef) (; born 9 February 1942) is a Syrian 1/2Kurdish/ 1/2 Christian Valley stage, film and television actress. She is also a United Nations Goodwill ambassador. She is an icon in the Arab world and the Middle E ...
, theater, television, and film actress. * Hediya Yousef is an ex-guerilla and co-chairwoman of the executive committee of the
Federation of Northern Syria – Rojava The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), also known as Rojava, is a ''de facto'' Autonomous administrative division, autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and E ...
. *
Razan Zaitouneh Razan Zaitouneh (sometimes spelled Zeitunah; ; born 29 April 1977) is a Syrian human rights lawyer and civil society activist. Actively involved in the Syrian uprising, she went into hiding after being accused by the government of being a fore ...
, human rights lawyer and activist.


References


External links


Survey: Discrimination against Women in Syrian Society (I/II). Awareness of Women Rights and Freedoms, The Day After Association, August 2017


{{DEFAULTSORT:Women In Syria Asian women