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How Syrian Women Are Shaping Their Country’s Future

What to Know: How Rebels Toppled the Syrian Government and Deposed Assad
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Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East | Women’s Rights, Human Rights, and Refugees | Issue Brief



March 14, 2025 | Merissa Khurma

Licensed Find Similar File #: 94934002 Muslim woman on the fence of a boat overlooking the sea at sunset

On Dec. 8, 2024, Islamist rebel forces known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham .. https://www.dni.gov/nctc/ftos/hts_fto.html (HTS), took over the Syrian capital city of Damascus, toppling the regime of Bashar Assad after 13 years of a civil war that has destroyed much of the country and forcefully displaced half of its population. This was a watershed moment for the Syrian people and the Middle East, as it marked an end to five decades of Assad dictatorship.

After serving as de facto head of the temporary authority that followed the Dec. 8 uprising, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa was appointed President of Syria for an unspecified “transitional phase” by anti-Assad opposition leaders on Jan. 29, 2025. Al-Sharaa moved quickly to take control of Syrian civil and military institutions in order to rebuild the country and reestablish its place regionally and within the international community.

The country responded with a sense of hope and opportunity, but also fear, apprehension, and challenge. The hope and opportunity lay in the potential for Syrians to build a pluralistic civic state through an inclusive and participatory process. The apprehension and challenge arose from the very identity of the new transitional government: HTS — defined by the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) as a Salafi Islamist Group with a violent extremist past and previous links to al-Qaida — remains a contentious force, despite its approach to governing since Assad’s fall.

The dualities of hope and fear, opportunity and challenge, stemming from HTS’ influence, are now acutely felt by Syrian women’s groups, organizations, and activists. These women are essential to the next phase of rebuilding Syria, both locally and globally, across political, economic, and cultural fronts.

A Snapshot of Syrian Women Activism

This policy brief examines the pivotal role of Syrian women, both within their country and across refugee communities in neighboring countries and the broader diaspora. It also offers policy recommendations to the international community on how to support Syrian women’s groups, activists, and professionals in the post-Assad transitional phase. The brief draws on a review of existing literature as well as in-depth virtual interviews with Syrian women, including active members of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement (SWPM) based in the U.S., Europe, and Syria. These interviews were conducted by the author in January 2025, two weeks after the fall of the Assad regime.

The Rise of Opposition to Inequality

The Syrian constitution under the Assad regime, in its various iterations — including the 2012 constitution that was drafted under pressure following the 2011 protests — specifically “provides for equality .. https://coi.euaa.europa.eu/administration/easo/PLib/02_2020_EASO_COI_Report_Syria_Situation_of_women.pdf .. between men and women.” However, similar to many countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Syria’s personal status and family laws have long discriminated against women, as have laws governing matters of nationality, retirement, inheritance, and social security.

Additionally, women and men of all ages who lived under Assad’s regime suffered from the same repressive laws, lack of personal freedoms, and Assad’s absolute power, which were enshrined in the Syrian constitution under his rule. As a result, Syria women not only participated in protests, sit-ins, and increasingly vocal demands for reform in 2011 and 2012, but also took on leadership roles in organizing and mobilizing .. https://syriadirect.org/syrias-womens-movement-13-years-after-revolution/#:~:text=Women%20like%20al%2DFarij%20and,voices%20heard%20in%20new%20ways. .. many of these peaceful demonstrations.

A large number of these women activists, such as Ghalia Rahhal, cofounder of a community and empowerment organization in Idlib named Mazaya, and Muna al-Farij, a leading opposition figure from Raqqa, were targeted by Assad’s regime and later by the Islamic State and were subsequently forced to flee the country.

Quelling Dissent With Violence

As opposition to Assad grew stronger and demands for political reforms and freedoms grew fiercer and spread to various parts of the country during the first year of the 2011 revolution, the Assad regime responded with force, clamping down on dissent in the name of counterterrorism. When the revolution turned violent and various Islamist groups, including HTS predecessor Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, emerged to fight regime forces, the country descended quickly into a bloody and prolonged civil war. This conflict has taken a tragic toll, especially on Syrian girls and women — both those who remained in their homes and those who fled, either internally or to neighboring host countries.

A Civil War That Disproportionately Impacted Women and Girls

According to several reports published in the last few years, while Syrians of all religious and ethnic backgrounds have been adversely impacted by the intense cycle of violence over the last 10 years, girls and women have been “disproportionally affected on multiple grounds, irrespective of perpetrator or geographical area.” A 2024 United Nations Population Fund .. https://arabstates.unfpa.org/en/news/13-years-syria-crisis-pushing-women-and-girls-brink .. (UNFP) report noted that the deterioration of conditions in Syria, as well as the dwindling of donor aid to address the dire humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees, have put more than 11 million Syrian girls and women at risk of “violence, exploitation, and lack of access to essential services,” including forced child marriages for girls of reproductive age.

Despite All, Women-Led Organizations Endure

The challenges and hardships faced by Syrian women have not stopped many of the women-led organizations .. https://syriadirect.org/syrias-womens-movement-13-years-after-revolution/#:~:text=Women%20like%20al%2DFarij%20and,voices%20heard%20in%20new%20ways. .. and community-focused efforts in Syria and in exile. During the past 10–13 years, many of these groups have continued to operate, and in some cases, even expanded. This reflects the tenacity of Syrian women leaders to ensure equal access to education and raise awareness of their rights.

In some areas, such as Idlib — which HTS has controlled since 2018 — many educational and capacity-building programs have been targeted, threatened, or shut-down in recent years. However, these efforts, including Mazaya’s work in Idlib, continue to support women, raise awareness, and empower girls and women through education — especially in reinforcing their political and economic rights and understanding their role in society.

Many of these organizations began as volunteer efforts and gradually morphed into nongovernmental organizations, with funding depending on the ebb and flow of local and international support, including from Syrian women’s networks and other movements within the diaspora.

Rise of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement

The Syrian Women’s Political Movement (SWPM) .. https://syrianwomenpm.org/ar/releases/7976/ , is a prime example of the emergence of women-led groups within Syria. Officially launched in 2017, it had already formed and been growing since the early days of the revolution in 2011 and 2012. SWPM not only helped sustain many women’s groups and organizations, both within Syria and in host countries, but also developed a vision and strategy for the Syrian state they hope to return to and live in. In an interview with the author that took place in 2025, Khawla Yusuf Barghouth, a leading member of SWPM, noted that their work is focused on educating both women and men — the latter also members of their movement — on “feminist thinking” and how it applies to future laws and practices in Syria. Cultivating feminist mindsets, she emphasized, is an important building block for creating an inclusive, pluralistic civic state — one where women are included in decision-making at all levels of the political transition and in future governing bodies.

A Chance to Leverage Past Efforts

The efforts that a plethora of Syrian women’s groups and organizations are now leading on the ground across Syria, within the diaspora, or in exile are therefore not new. Rather, they have been ongoing with vigor and determination since the beginning of the revolution. Now that the Assad regime has fallen, their work, experience, and expertise should be leveraged during the transition period and beyond. As Julia Taleb, a Syrian-Canadian expert in international development noted, “one positive trend after the fall of Assad is the very active movement by Syrian women working at civil society organizations and activists to establish their voice and presence on the ground.” These efforts are now being used to advocate for inclusion and equal representation for women in the new Syria.

Charting a Role for Women in Post-Assad Syria

On the same day in January 2025 that al-Sharaa was appointed president for a “transitional phase .. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/29/syrias-ahmed-al-sharaa-named-president-for-transitional-period ,” the country’s constitution was suspended and various armed factions in the country dissolved. Al-Sharaa was also authorized to form a temporary legislative body until a new constitution was formed. These critical developments mark the beginning of the political process Syrians have been awaiting since the fall of Assad and offer new openings for engagement and dialogue. However, this is a path filled with challenges, fear, and apprehension — especially among women’s groups.

The author’s interviews with Syrian women members of the SWPM reveal the duality of hope and fear, challenge and opportunity, as al-Sharaa takes charge of the rebuilding process. All the women interviewed for this brief expressed mixed feelings about this new chapter in their country.

As Hiam, a respondent from Northern Syria who requested to use only her first name, noted, “We feel happiness that the Assad regime fell but, sadly, this happened at the hands of HTS.” Rajaa Tangour from rural Damascus added that the fear and apprehension stem from how al-Sharaa has ruled before in Idlib under the banner of “whoever liberates rules.” Salma al-Said, also from Damascus, further noted that there is little clarity regarding the “future vision of Syria,” adding that before al-Sharaa became president, the transitional body, primarily comprised of HTS personnel, “was not diverse” and did not reflect Syria’s rich mosaic of ethnicities and religions.

Concerns Over Key Government Appointments

Since HTS’ takeover of Syria, women have been appointed to key positions, including Mohsena al-Maithawi?as governor of Suwayda and Maysa Sabreen as head of Syria’s Central Bank. However, appointments like Aisha al-Dibs .. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/22/women-will-play-a-key-role-in-a-new-syria-says-minister , an Islamist, as head of the Syrian Women’s Affairs Office, and Shadi al-Waisi .. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syria-justice-minister-execution-video-adultery-assad-regime-rcna186523 .. as justice minister have raised many concerns among women’s groups and activists.

Al-Dibs commented in an interview with Turkish broadcaster TRT World that she would not “open the path for those who don’t agree with my thinking,” adding fuel to the fire for women activists who initially hoped to give her a chance. In an interview with the author, Taleb, the Canadian expert on Syria, notes that while al-Dibs’ Islamist views on women’s roles may resonate with some, they only represent a small fraction of Syrian society.

[Insert: {Parallels between authoritarian Islamists and authoritarian Trump are interesting.}

Concerns over Syrian Justice Minister al-Waisi are rooted in a verified video .. https://verify-sy.com/en/details/10597/Did-the-current-Minister-of-Justice-appear-in-a-video-documenting-the-execution-of-a-woman-in-the-Idlib-countryside- .. recording of him overseeing the execution of a woman in the Idlib countryside for adultery. While a spokesperson for the transitional body explained that the event occurred at a time when the laws in place were being followed, many Syrian women activists remain wary and are cautious in fully supporting al-Sharaa.

Interviewee Hiam also expressed concern, cautioning that if HTS’ past actions in Idlib are any indication, the current transitional period could be in jeopardy. “Those who disagreed with them in Idlib were targeted,” she noted, adding: “They did not have pluralism and democracy in Idlib, so how are they going to do this now across Syria?”
The Role of Women in Syria’s Transitional Period

Since these interviews were conducted by the author with Syrian women leaders, al-Sharaa addressed the Syrian people for the first time since Dec. 8, 2024. In a previously recorded speech, he vowed to hold a “national dialogue conference” and form a government that “reflects Syria’s diversity” in order to ensure the preservation of “civil peace” and the “territorial unity of Syria.” This address is a key step forward after Assad’s fall, but women’s groups, as noted in the interviews, feel al-Sharaa has focused more on foreign relations and his Western image than on connecting with the Syrian people.

Despite caution and apprehension, Syrian women’s groups continue their work openly across Syria. The SWPM held a successful press conference on Jan. 8 in the heart of Damascus, Syria’s capital city. Key member of SWPM and interviewee Yusuf noted that not only did members from across Syria attend, but women abroad also participated virtually, reflecting how the movement has continued its work since they officially launched in 2017. “This press conference was essential to publicly present our vision for Syria; one that includes at least 30% women’s representation in all political and government bodies,” noted Yusuf.

A Vision for Syria’s Future

SWPM has issued several policy papers outlining their vision for women’s representation and Syria’s governance. Their Jan. 6 editorial, reiterates their stance on women’s rights and details steps needed during this critical phase, including, “establishing a representative political system, national reconciliation that includes accountability and constitutional prosecution of war criminals, reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and cities, unification of the country by integrating regions within the construction of a single state, and working on economic recovery to return refugees, displaced men, and women.”

Building an Inclusive and Diverse Movement

Interviewee al-Said, a member of SWPM, added that their approach is driven by the group’s rich diversity. It is inclusive and participatory, which is why they “want to be part of the national dialogue and the constitutional committees and perhaps at some point set up a political party in the future” and continue to bring all segments of Syrian society, both women and men, together toward rebuilding the country. The conference, just like their movement, includes Syrian women of all ethnicities and religions, as well as of varying degrees of religiosity and beliefs. “Even our Islamist members believe in a ‘civic’ and not an ‘Islamist’ legal system,” SWPM member Yusuf noted.

On the inclusion of men in this feminist approach to rebuilding Syria, SWPM members affirm in all interviews that there are male members of the movement and that they are part of their programs. One SWPM member, Wassim Hassan, speaking after the conference, noted that while this movement was started by women, it includes feminist men who support the organization’s vision for Syria — a civic, pluralistic, and inclusive Syrian state that not only “protects minorities and the disenfranchised” but provides equal opportunity for all.

The Path Ahead for Women’s Rights

For now, there is a wait-and-see approach as to how the new government will rule when it comes to women. Al-Sharaa and his wife recently met with Syrian American women, the first of such meetings. Personal notes shared on social media by some of the attendees at this meeting showcased a sense of optimism and hope in the new Syrian leadership. Another important milestone includes the appointment of two Syrian women, Hind Kabawat and Houda Attasi, to the preparatory committee for the Syrian National Dialogue Conference that took place in February 2025.

The Syrian women interviewed by the author in January 2025 widely acknowledge that al-Sharaa and his team have thus far demonstrated some pragmatism, as Sajjan M. Gohel? notes in his appeal to the international community on the need to prioritize women’s rights during Syria’s transitional phase, especially as they consider lifting sanctions. However, Gohel also notes the critical question: “whether HTS can signal a genuine departure from its extremist past or if the country will descend into yet another form of regressive authoritarianism.”
Conclusion and Policy Recommendations

This policy brief, based on interviews with Syrian women leaders and publications from international organizations focusing on Syria, offers the following policy recommendations to the U.S. government, Middle East countries, and international leaders, both governmental and nongovernmental:

* Address women’s rights and issues seriously during this critical juncture, through meaningful actions and dialogue with women’s groups.
* Advocate for the inclusion of Syrian women in the next phase, including inviting Syrian women leaders and organizers to international conferences on Syria.
* Ensure international actors press transitional authorities, both privately and publicly, to demonstrate measurable progress on women’s issues.
* Recognize women as equals to men in all political, economic, and cultural spheres, and prioritize urgent reforms during the transitional period.
* Support Syrian women’s groups in the international community to ensure their inclusion in decisions beyond so-called “women’s” issues.
* Highlight lessons from women leaders in other Arab countries, like Tunisia and Yemen, to better inform Syria’s next governing phase.

After 13 years of extensive groundwork by women activists and grassroots organizations both inside and outside Syria, it is vital for the new transitional leadership in Damascus and the international community to leverage their knowledge, expertise, and vision for Syria’s future. Amid the mix of hope, fear, opportunity, and challenge characterizing this transitional period, it is essential to listen to the voices of the Syrian people. Regional governments in the Middle East and international actors have highlighted the importance of including Syrians in shaping the country’s future, emphasizing the need for the Syrian government to engage directly with its people during this critical time.

This publication was produced on behalf of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Wherever feasible, the material was reviewed by external experts prior to its release. Any errors are the responsibility of the author(s) alone.

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

© 2025 Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
https://doi.org/10.25613/av0t-4r48

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