Equality is on Syria’s agenda

Just a day after capturing Syria’s capital Dec. 8, the rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) felt compelled to issue a rule for its fighters: Do not interfere with “the right” of women “to choose their attire or appearance.”

Whether the Islamist group – with roots in Al Qaeda – sticks to the rule remains in doubt. In areas long under its control in northwest Syria, HTS has not put any women in high government positions.

Yet the timing was telling. To quickly unify a shattered nation after a half-century of dictatorship, HTS will need the support of Syrian women, whose views on gender equality have risen since the 2011 Arab Spring, the spread of social media, and 13 years of conflict and mass displacement.

“We’re not afraid of them,” a nurse named Noor told the BBC. “I don’t think they will force us to cover ourselves from head to toe.” And, she added, “They are from our country, they are not Islamic State.”

Another woman said, “I believe that the women and men are going to rebuild our country together and Syria will improve.”

Syrian women have always been fighting for a space for themselves and won’t accept being pushed back, says Rim Turkmani, a researcher of the Syrian conflict at the London School of Economics. “And they’re not going to accept just lip service for representation,” she told CNN.

In a 2021 PBS interview, the HTS leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, said his style of rule will be Islamic, “but not according to the standards of [the Islamic State] or even Saudi Arabia.” Perhaps he has been following the women’s protests in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and a few other Muslim nations.

In a 2024 opinion survey of the Middle East and North Africa, Arab Barometer found most people believe “having women in positions of political power advances women’s rights.” Despite some backsliding, citizens across the region “are still largely supportive of moves towards gender equality.”

After the fall of the Assad regime Sunday, one Syrian woman, Shifaa Sawan, walked the streets of Damascus singing a famous protest song, “Janna, Janna Ya Watana” (“Heaven, Heaven, Our Country Is Heaven”). She told the news site Syria Direct that Syria is no longer a “republic of fear.”

“I hope that, in the new Syria, there will be freedom, dignity, justice and development.”