Originally published by The Conversation. Find the original publication .
As the international community celebrates the following the collapse of Syria’s Assad regime, the future of women’s rights remains precarious.
Global leaders are commending Syria’s liberation and discussing the return of , but women’s are .
Power transitions in Iran, Afghanistan and other Muslim-majority nations have often endangered women’s hard-won freedoms. That’s why it’s crucial to prioritize in Syria to ensure their voices are not overlooked in the pursuit of stability and justice.
Mistreatment of women
Islamist militant forces led by the Assad regime.
While HTS and its leader, Ahmad al-Sharaa, claim to be moderate and focused on governance, the group’s treatment of women raises serious concerns about the future of women’s rights in Syria.
, but now spreading to other major cities, HTS enforces strict laws based on its interpretation of Islamic law, severely restricting women’s mobility, dress and .
Women must be accompanied by a male guardian to access public areas, and the HTS morality police can fine, shame or detain those who violate the dress code. Women are confined to domestic roles, and those who challenge this are harshly punished, with activists and aid workers facing .
The situation for Syrian women after 13 years of civil war is deeply troubling, especially when compared to similar regional power transitions.
, with compulsory hijab laws and restrictions on economic and political participation.
In , the Taliban’s return to power in 2021 led to and employment. Similarly, with ISIS’s rise in 2014, were enslaved, and rape became a widespread weapon of war in Iraq and Syria.
‘Revolution of the mind’
Global discussions on Syria’s political transition have paid scant attention to how various interpretations of might dictate women’s fundamental rights and their role in society.
Without considerable effort by women’s rights advocates, Syrian women will likely meet the same fate as their sisters in Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq, watching as decades of progress are erased in the name of political expediency.
As reminds us, the battle over women’s bodies can be won only by a revolution of the mind.
Syria’s future must include women’s voices. Syrian women have been pillars of their communities during 13 years of war, yet have been systematically excluded from peace negotiations. As mandated by Security Council Resolution 1325, it’s essential for women to meaningfully participate in peace negotiations to shape the country’s future.
have been the backbone of their families and communities during the civil war as they served as leaders, humanitarians and visionaries. Despite their resilience and sacrifices, in helping determine Syria’s future.
Urgent need to focus on women’s rights
The international community should focus on empowering local civil society and advocating for women’s rights, thereby enhancing Syria’s prospects for building a more inclusive society.
Western governments must urge Damascus’s new rulers to pursue an inclusive political transition, as outlined in the , instead of seeking a workaround to recognize HTS as a legitimate partner despite its terrorist designation.
The resolution mandates forming an inclusive transitional government with full executive powers, drafting a new constitution, holding UN-supervised elections within 18 months and ensuring voting rights for , including refugees and Syrians living abroad.
New-found freedom in Syria comes with unease about life under a government led by Islamic militants, and the possibility of new restrictions. Syrians are closely monitoring developments for clues about how their are going to govern.
Ahmad al-Sharaa has stated it might take as many as three years to draft a constitution and up to four years to hold elections, raising concerns about .
Cycle of brutality
Over the past few decades, the Middle East has alternated between and Islamist, often misogynistic, regimes.
When a dictatorship collapses, an Islamic regime often fills the vacuum, and when they fall, another harsh dictatorship usually follows.
In Iran, the shah’s dictatorship gave way to Khomeini’s . In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak’s fall led to the ’s rise and the imposition of restrictions on women’s rights before it was ousted by .
Tunisia experienced a similar shift, with after Ben Ali’s dictatorship, only to be replaced by the authoritarian .
Syria seems to be following this cycle, with Assad’s authoritarianism giving rise to Islamist factions. The key question is whether the Syrian people can break this pattern and build a more inclusive government that gives women and minorities equal rights and full citizenship.
Dr. Vrinda Narain is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law, 91ÉçÇø. Her research and teaching focus on constitutional law, social diversity and feminist legal theory.
She is the author of two books: (University of Toronto Press, 2008) and (University of Toronto Press, 2001). Her current research and teaching interests include constitutional law, feminist legal theory, social diversity and law, postcolonial studies and law and critical race theory.
Professor Vrinda Narain is the 2017 recipient of the Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice’s Charles D. Gonthier Research Fellowship. She was Associate Dean, Academic, at the 91ÉçÇø Faculty of Law from 2016 to 2019.