Four Syrian organizations issued a joint position paper entitled “The Status of Women in Syria and the Requirements of the Transitional Period.” The paper provides a political and human rights assessment of the current situation of women. It aims to present a comprehensive political and rights-based position reflecting the views of Syrian feminist movements and organizations on the course of the transitional period and the present-day realities facing women. It affirms that women’s rights and their meaningful participation are neither a sectoral demand nor a humanitarian concern that can be deferred, but rather a structural benchmark and a non-negotiable condition for the legitimate emergence of a democratic state founded on citizenship and the rule of law.
The paper was signed by the Syrian Feminist Lobby, the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, the Syrian Women’s Network, and the Center for Civil Society and Democracy (CCSD).
Since the fall of the former regime, Syrian women and men have looked toward a transitional period that honors their sacrifices and lays the foundations for genuine political transformation, leading to the establishment of a state that is politically, institutionally, economically, and socially stable and founded on the rule of law, democracy, respect for human rights, and the protection of the dignity of all citizens. However, since assuming power, the practices of the transitional authorities have revealed a growing tendency to monopolize power and consolidate the influence of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham within state institutions and their key structures, instead of building a civilian, pluralistic, independent, and inclusive transitional authority.
While the transitional authorities have devoted considerable effort to strengthening regional and international relations and securing international recognition, they have failed to give domestic affairs and urgent national priorities the attention they deserve. They organized a limited and largely tokenistic national dialogue that lacked genuine representation, pluralism, and transparency and failed to reflect the diversity of Syrian society. Moreover, its non-binding outcomes did not establish serious foundations for a new social contract or a participatory transitional process based on the will of Syria’s women and men.
The dominant political and military forces also formed a transitional government drawn almost entirely from a single political camp, retaining control over key sovereign positions in clear violation of the principles of inclusivity and balanced representation. Armed factions—including extremist groups accused of serious violations and war crimes—were incorporated into the newly formed military and security forces without subjecting their members and leaders to vetting, accountability, and institutional reform processes consistent with international standards. These formations and factions have continued to commit violations, which were particularly evident in the massacres in Syria’s coastal region and Suwayda. These violations included extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, the abduction of women, attacks against civilians, and abuses of a sectarian and regional nature. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry has stated that such acts may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, amid the absence of independent and transparent investigations and effective accountability.
In a context lacking representative legitimacy and national consensus, military and political alliances installed Ahmed al-Sharaa as president for a five-year transitional period. By his own decision, he established a committee to draft a constitutional declaration that consolidated executive, legislative, and appointment powers in the hands of the transitional president and weakened the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances, potentially paving the way for a new authoritarian system. The president was also granted significant influence over the formation of the legislative authority by appointing one-third of its members and controlling the mechanism through which the remaining two-thirds are selected. Meanwhile, women’s participation has remained limited and symbolic, falling far short of equal political partnership and failing to reflect the role Syrian women have played in the struggle and in public life.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s influence has also extended into the judiciary, local administration, and public institutions, threatening judicial independence and the neutrality of state institutions. Decisions and practices have restricted personal and public freedoms and imposed forms of social guardianship that have disproportionately affected women by limiting their freedom of movement, choices, and presence in public life. These measures contradict international obligations related to equality, non-discrimination, and fundamental rights and freedoms.
At the same time, the transitional authorities have not treated transitional justice as an essential pillar of peacebuilding and the prevention of future violations. Instead, the decision to establish the National Commission for Transitional Justice was narrow and incomplete, limiting its mandate to crimes committed by the former regime. This restriction constitutes a fundamental breach of transitional justice principles, which require the inclusion of all victims and investigations into serious violations regardless of the identity, political affiliation, or military allegiance of those responsible. Any process that fails to address crimes committed by all parties—including armed groups, de facto authorities, and the current transitional authorities—will not deliver justice or ensure accountability, reparations, or guarantees of non-recurrence.
The transitional authorities have not yet initiated a genuine reconstruction process. Instead, they have opened the country to investment amid a lack of transparency and clarity, which risks coming at the expense of marginalized communities and the poor, including the most marginalized women, particularly those still living in displacement camps. Although the transitional government has announced a “Zero Tents” plan to be completed by the end of the year, it remains unclear how women who are the primary providers for their families in these camps will be supported afterward.
Throughout the years of conflict and authoritarian rule, Syrian women have endured complex and multiple forms of abuse, including killing, abduction, enforced disappearance, detention, torture, sexual violence, and other forms of gender-based violence. They have also faced forced displacement, the loss of family breadwinners, economic exploitation, child marriage, and deprivation of education, employment, and participation in public life. The perpetrators of these violations have varied—from the former regime to armed and extremist groups and de facto authorities, and ultimately to the current transitional authorities, under whose rule these violations continue and recur amid weak legal protections and the absence of effective accountability mechanisms.
Against this backdrop, the paper serves as a joint position document expressing the views of its signatory organizations and feminist movements regarding the current political and human rights landscape and the challenges facing Syrian women. Foremost among these challenges are the continuation of violations, women’s exclusion from decision-making positions, the absence of meaningful political participation, and the lack of adequate constitutional and legal safeguards for their rights.
The issues affecting women addressed in this paper are inseparable from the broader vision for Syria’s future. Women’s rights and freedoms are not a marginal sectoral concern or a demand that can be postponed until conditions stabilize. Rather, they are a decisive benchmark and a structural measure of the state’s democratic character and the fairness of its institutions. The Syria we aspire to must be a homeland for all women and men—a country free from authoritarianism, violence, and discrimination and founded on equal citizenship, the rule of law, the separation of powers, judicial independence, and respect for diversity.
The new state must also be built with the full and meaningful participation of Syrian women throughout every stage of the political transition and across governing and decision-making institutions. Its constitutional and legal framework must guarantee their political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights, provide a safe and enabling environment for their engagement in public life, and protect them from all forms of violence, discrimination, and exclusion.
You can read the full position paper by clicking the following link:
