This International Women’s Day, groups worldwide issued a call to accelerate action for gender equality. As post-Assad Syria takes shape, the country has a rare opportunity to achieve major gains in gender equality. But time is limited: The stakeholders involved in mapping Syria’s future must harness this opportunity early, while the country is freshly emerging from the conflict.

What women have faced in Syria

Women’s rights in Syria have been neglected for decades. Before the Syrian revolution in 2011, any legal frameworks that offered women rights, privileges, and titles were symbolic and did not translate into meaningful social or political empowerment. These laws and policies were largely superficial, serving more as “window dressing” to give the appearance of progress while women’s actual roles and opportunities were limited in practice. Bashar al-Assad rose to power and led a regime that excluded and discriminated against women.

As the conflict ensued, women in Syria faced increasingly dire conditions. Over 90 percent of Syrians are estimated to be living under the poverty line, and women bear the brunt of this economic crisis. Mariam Jalabi, one of the founders of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement (which advocates for the participation of women in decision-making bodies) told us: “We cannot talk about women’s rights without first talking about human rights . . . A Syrian woman does not have food on her table, her children are not in school, she doesn’t have access to proper healthcare.” These issues are compounded by Syria’s economic collapse, which has increased gender-based violence, child marriage, child labor, and sexual exploitation.

The conflict’s gendered impact is evident in the experiences of female heads of households—the widows and wives of the hundreds of thousands killed, disappeared, or missing in Syria—many of whom are still seeking justice. The patriarchal nature of Syrian society and the Assad regime’s failure to make meaningful legal reforms (specifically regarding citizenship, personal status, property, and the penal code) put women at a disadvantage in providing for their families or making key decisions.

The window of opportunity is limited

Post-conflict contexts provide a unique opportunity for women to take on greater roles in political, economic, and social spheres as existing gender hierarchies get upended. As one study notes, peace processes pave the way for institutional reform and new strategies that promote gender equality. However, as this study also points out, these opportunities for meaningful advancements in women’s empowerment are often time-limited, and substantial effort may be needed to maintain commitment to furthering these advancements.

Syria’s civil society, both inside the country and in the diaspora, has grown stronger and has collected wisdom over years of operating under oppressive, authoritarian rule. Despite hardship, this resilient civil society has continued to adapt, organize, and advocate for a better future and has the potential to steer Syria, including its new leadership, toward a more inclusive, democratic future. This has set a foundation for swift action to promote gender equality during this pivotal but fleeting period.

But still, if matters related to gender parity are continuously postponed—whether until a constitution is solidified or lasting peace is secured—opportunities for equality may be lost.

The women shaping Syria’s future

The Syrian interim government has made some progress. It appointed several women to high-level positions, including Maysaa Sabreen, head of Syria’s Central Bank (the first woman to ever serve the role); Aisha al-Dibs, head of the newly established Women’s Affairs Office; and Muhsina al-Mahithawi, the first female governor of Suwaida.

These women have an opportunity to assert the legitimacy of women as valuable actors in social and political spaces. Their appointments also serve as key indicators of progress, which is being monitored closely by international governments and organizations, including the United States, European Union, and United Nations (UN), in advance of fully lifting sanctions, among other steps towards stabilization in Syria.

While these appointments are significant, questions remain about whether they are genuine efforts or symbolic gestures. For example, statements from officials (including al-Dibs and government spokesperson Obaida Arnaout) and the appointment of Minister of Justice Shadi al-Waisi, who has a controversial track record with respect to women, have been perceived as dismissive of the demands of Syrian women across the country. Syrians were quick to condemn these statements and say they did not reflect priorities for Syria’s future.

But in another sign of progress, ahead of the February Syrian National Dialogue Conference on the country’s political future, the interim government appointed a preparatory committee to set standards for the talks. The committee of seven included two women: Hind Kabawat (one of the authors of this piece) and Houda Attasi.

Kabawat and Attasi led the mediation team and organized thematic sessions within the broader dialogue, with a clear focus on securing the participation of women from across Syrian society, including professionals such as judges, lawyers, and politicians; artists such as writers and actresses; civil-society leaders; women living in displacement camps; mothers of detainees; and others. This included efforts to ensure that there were minimum quotas for women’s participation, set at 30 percent, for each defined category of participant (i.e. politicians, civil society representatives, human-rights activists, and intellectuals). In reality, this quota was not met (it was closer to 25 percent), in part because various religious groups and tribes have little to no female representation in their leadership.

Some attendees expressed concerns about the conference’s inclusivity, particularly of minority women. While invitations were sent out to members of the Yazidi and Kurdish minorities ahead of the conference—and Druze, Kurdish, and Christian men and women participated—there was indeed not a lot of time for Syrians, particularly those in the diaspora, to travel to Damascus to attend in person. In addition, some women participants also expressed concern about a lack of clarity from the interim government on how it would guarantee that the conference’s recommendations would be carried out after the talks; these women called for the implementation of an accountability mechanism.

Nevertheless, the Syrian National Dialogue Conference still marked a significant moment, seeing as over two hundred women participated in the National Dialogue Conference following decades of low women’s participation in Syrian governance and politics. In addition, over ten thousand Syrians from around the world contributed through an online questionnaire, 40 percent of whom were women. The conference’s final statement, which was presented by Attasi, included calls for transitional justice, peace, and respecting women’s rights and role in Syria’s future. These calls were inspired by the requests of women attendees and organizations such as the Syrian Women’s Advisory Board, the Syrian Feminist Lobby, and TASTAKEL, who participated in the dialogue.

Jalabi, who was formerly the Syrian Opposition Coalition’s representative to the UN, reflected on some of the criticisms currently facing the interim government: “Part of our job as active citizens is engaging actively with the current government. As Syrians, we can always expect better from our government. Syrian women . . . we want to be a part of high-level decision making, and not just in the abstract.”

What to do now

It is critical for women to be involved in transitional justice and constitutional reform processes in Syria. This can be enabled by several actors, including the interim government, international stakeholders, and, primarily, Syrian women themselves. 

The international community, particularly the United States and the European Union, should accelerate sanctions relief for Syria. Doing so will help the Syrian government improve women’s rights and revitalize the country’s ailing economy, which has been greatly affected by sanctions imposed on the Assad regime. Sanctions relief would allow women and their families to achieve a “normal” life and secure the resources needed to rebuild the country. Bottom line: If the international community wants to support the women of Syria, the priority should be sanctions relief.

Additionally, the international community should firmly call for Syria to shape a system of governance that includes women. There is precedent for this: For example, UN Resolutions 1325 (2000) and 2467 (2019) call on countries to prioritize the participation of women and the incorporation of gender perspectives in peace and justice processes.

The Syrian interim government must take proactive measures to ensure that women, particularly from minority communities, are represented in future National Dialogue Conferences and all high-level political dialogues. The interim government must ensure that at least 30 percent of representatives in decision-making bodies are women, as was achieved by the UN-facilitated Syrian Constitutional Committee in 2019. Establishing a new Women’s Affairs Office, while important, should not allow the isolation of women’s issues from broader governance. Instead, the office should ensure that such issues are considered in national policies. In essence, Syrian women need to be represented in all levels of government.

Syrian organizations that advocate for women’s participation in decision making should continue to cultivate strategic alliances and broad coalitions, including with regional and international actors, to promote gender equality and peacebuilding.

Furthermore, these organizations should work to further establish solidarity among women. That is essential for the long-term success of any effort to build a more inclusive and democratic Syria. Women working collectively, and without competition, with close alignment in visions and values, can drive efforts to bridge divides (across classes, locations, and sects) that have previously hindered Syria’s sociopolitical progress.

Syrian women’s organizations must work to reframe the debate on gender equality, highlighting that it is not just a fundamental right but also a critical component of a more inclusive and just society. In appealing to the interim government, Syrian women can show how progress in achieving gender equality can enhance the government’s image and reputation. This approach can help mitigate the backlash that has been seen in other post-conflict transitions.

Both women’s organizations and the interim government should together incentivize higher levels of representation by women in Syria’s decision-making bodies and processes. They should work together to ensure the quality and effectiveness of women’s roles, not just the quantity of those roles, in order to ultimately erase deeply ingrained gender stereotypes that undermine the legitimacy of women’s political participation.

While some progress has been made, the Syrian interim government, with support from the international community, must follow with concrete actions to advance women’s rights in Syria. Empowering women will not only benefit Syria in the short term but also set the country on a trajectory toward an inclusive and sustainable future.

Diana Rayes is a nonresident fellow for the Syria Project in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and a postdoctoral associate at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Hind Kabawat is a nonresident senior fellow for the Syria Project in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and the director of interfaith peacebuilding at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy, and Conflict Resolution at the George Mason University Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

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Image: Syrian women celebrate, at a rally, the end of the Assad regime Assad, after the change of power in Syria. Photo by IMAGO/Jochen Tackvia Reuters.