Too early for confidence

The small demonstration in front of the old Hejaz train station in the centre of Damascus seems a little lost. A couple of dozen people have gathered on the steps of the almost 120-year-old building. They are calling on Syria's new rulers to move quickly towards democracy and the rule of law.

Among the activists are women's rights campaigners such as 28-year-old Nour Gheiba. "We have incredible opportunities ahead of us," she says. "We have broken the cycle of tyranny. With Assad's fall, a future full of possibilities lies ahead of us, one in which we can develop a new vision for Syria." Nour is a member of the Syrian Women's Political Movement, a group trying to raise awareness of women's rights among Syria's new rulers.

Hasiba Abdul Rahman, a writer, is more cautious. "The fall of the regime was a huge step. The regime is behind us, which is good, but what lies ahead?" she asks, offering a first impression of the new rulers' policies regarding women: "To be honest, I haven't yet seen any significant regression yet, but also no progress."

The 69-year-old has a lot of experience with the old regime, having been imprisoned four times for opposing the Assad family. Political participation unaligned with the Damascus regime was impossible for women and men alike; those who opposed the regime ended up, like Hasiba, in its notorious dungeons. Still, she chose to stay in Syria. 

For half a century, the only women's organisations allowed in Syria were those endorsing the autocratic policies of first Hafez al-Assad (1970-2000) and then his son, Bashar (2000-2024). "Women's organisations could not propose laws unless they were approved by the authorities," Hasiba recalls. "The presence of women in state institutions was only symbolic."

The "educational role" of women

The Assad dictatorship may be over, but when it comes to women's rights, women such as Nour and Hasiba are still on uncertain ground. Among activists in Syria there is concern that the new rulers from the once Al-Qaeda-affiliated movement, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), could close this new chapter as quickly as it opened.

The question is whether Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of HTS and now Syria's interim president, is going to look after his own conservative Islamist supporters or create a Syria for all. 

The new government's statements to date have been somewhat contradictory. In December, the transitional government's women's representative, Aisha al-Dibs, said that women would play a key role in the future, "but not beyond their God-given nature". Women, she said, "know their educational role in the family", a statement which suggests her view of family and women is essentially conservative. Syria's new foreign minister, Assad al-Shaibani, countered that he "believes in the active role of women in society". 

Many in Syria hoped that the first so-called "National Dialogue" would provide more information. On 25 February, 600 participants from all sections of society came together in the presidential palace in Damascus to discuss the future of their country. In his speech, Sharaa emphasised that he wanted to support the role of women in all areas.

But the outcome of the dialogue was, and remains, vague: a committee of experts is to be set up to draft a transitional constitution as quickly as possible, and a legislative council is to be formed which will take on the role of parliament until elections are held in four years. These demands, however, are not binding. The fact that the meeting was only scheduled to last a day also suggested that the regime was not overly serious about the dialogue.

"Women's rights issues hardly played a role in the National Dialogue," says campaigner Nour, who was disappointed by the dialogue. "A vague recommendation was made that women should be represented in government bodies, but there was no discussion of specific women's issues." Of those invited to the National Dialogue only around 15 per cent were women.

"Not all Syrians believe in women's rights"

At the demonstration at Hejaz station at the end of January, Nour's enthusiasm was tempered by realism: "We know that our fight is just beginning and that it must be waged not only with the government, which is an Islamist one, but also with society itself. The reality is that not all Syrians believe in women's rights."

There is much to be done on issues such as inheritance law, marriage, divorce and child custody, says Nour. The fact that Syrian women have not been able to pass on their citizenship to their children is also an issue. But the biggest problems facing Syrian women are those regarding poverty and food security, and on these issues, there is plenty of common ground to be found with the new rulers.

"We should highlight those areas in which we agree with the government and in which we are willing to fully cooperate with them," says Nour, explaining her strategy.

Hasiba is more sceptical: "Syria is impoverished, devastated and internally divided. In an environment like that, women's organisations are in a particularly vulnerable position," she says, pointing out that women in particular, who have borne the brunt of the civil war and paid the highest price, now need support.

"Women have lost their husbands, run their households alone, raised their children and protected their homes," she says of the civil war era. In 2017, more than 22 per cent of Syrian households were headed by a woman, according to a report by the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Before the war, that figure was four per cent.

"On that basis, HTS should be honouring women for their contribution and granting them rights, rather than belittling their status," says Hasiba. "Anyone who claims to be fighting for justice should recognise the sacrifices made by these women."

Women used for PR

Before the first parliamentary election, the most pressing concern for many women's rights activists is the question of who will represent Syrian women on the yet-to-be-formed legislative advisory council, and in what numbers. 

"There are many committed women fighting for the Syrian cause. They have every right to participate in the state—be it in the legislative or executive branch," says Nour.

But Hasiba warns that as the new rulers are keen to make a big impression, the issue of representation merits careful consideration. "They could put some women in symbolic positions purely as a front," she says, pointing out that using women for PR purposes is a common tactic.