13 years after the July 19th Revolution... Women's struggle in revolution

Before the July 19th Revolution, women in Syria lived far removed from their identity and status. They lacked a suitable or leadership position within the central authority.

The 1950 and 1975 constitutions, as well as the 2012 constitution, classify women as citizens. Of the 157 articles in the 2012 constitution, only one mentions women. This article allows women to engage in political, economic, social, and cultural activities. The remaining articles relate to their rights to motherhood.

Women's Presence in the Syrian Constitution

The number of women in the People's Assembly and local administrative councils has not been specified. According to the announced list, of the 250 members of the People's Assembly (2024), which represents the legislative authority in Syria, there are only 27 women.

Regarding leadership and governance, research indicates that from 1920 to 2025, no woman has held the position of President or Prime Minister in the Syrian government.

While March 8 is celebrated everywhere as International Women's Day, in Syria, it was celebrated as the day of the victory of the Ba'ath Party's military coup in 1963 and was called "Revolution Day."

In Rojava Kurdistan, Kurdish women who followed in the footsteps of the Kurdish liberation movement and the women's freedom movement began to be persecuted. Due to these state policies, women became secretly active and continued to struggle against the practices of the authorities, who operated with a patriarchal and discriminatory mentality.

Launching through the Star Union

In 2005, the first women's organization in Rojava was established under the name Star Union, now known as the Kongra Star. Among the pioneers in this field, whose names have been immortalized in history, is Kula Salmo, who was one of the first members of the Star Union (2005) and worked in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo. She also served in the neighborhood's People's Council, but was shot during the Sheikh Maqsoud uprising against attacks by armed groups affiliated with the Ba'ath regime in 2012. She died of her severe injuries on March 13 of the same year.

Due to the strong level of women's activism and determination demonstrated during the revolution, the July 19th Revolution was dubbed the Women's Revolution.

Women's Rights in the Social Contract

The Social Contract of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (December 12, 2023) safeguards women's rights in all military, political, and social spheres. The co-chair system was adopted as a fundamental principle in all institutions of the autonomous administration.

Articles 50 and 51 of the Social Contract stipulate that any form of violence against women, exploitation, or negative discrimination against them is a crime punishable by law. Women have the right to equal participation in all areas of life and to make decisions related to their affairs. Women's representation in the region's public justice system was set at 50 percent.

Work began in 2024 on the Women's Social Contract and is ongoing.

 Family Law

In 2014, the "Women's Law" was issued under the leadership of the Kongra Star, comprising 26 articles. This law, which guarantees women's political, economic, and social rights, was completed in 2016 with the adoption of the Penal Code. In 2019, the Women's Council of North and East Syria decided to make it a Family Law, which now consists of 41 articles.

Women's Institution Building

With the establishment of the Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, women from Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Assyrian, Armenian, Circassian, and Turkmen communities established numerous independent institutions on the social, political, diplomatic, and economic levels. There are numerous women's institutions in the region, organizing themselves in various towns, cities, and districts.

The names of these institutions are: the Women's Commission, the Women's Council, the Women's Social Justice Council, the Syrian Women's Council, and the Women's House.

The names of women's organizations and unions are: the Kongra Star, the Zenobia Women's Gathering, the Sara Organization for Combating Violence against Women, the Center for Research and Protection of Women's Rights, the Free Women's Endowment in Syria, the Ecological Women's Platform, the Syriac Women's Union, the Armenian Women's Union, the Yazidi Women's Union, the Young Women's Union, the Women's Media Union, in addition to a number of women's associations and civil society organizations.

There are also women's councils and offices in political parties and movements, such as the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Future Syria Party, the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD), and the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM).

Protection and Defense

Women have established independent institutions and councils to protect and defend society from attacks, occupation, and destruction. These include the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), the Women's Internal Security Forces, the Syriac Women's Protection Forces (Sotoro), the Assyrian Women's Internal Security Forces (NATURA), and the Women's Community Protection Forces (HPC-JIN). They also participate in the military councils of the Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Assyrian, and Armenian components of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Culture and Art

The Hilal Zerin Women's Cultural Movement in North and East Syria is one of the most prominent institutions under whose umbrella women practice their artistic activities. Among the art centers in the region are the Martyr Barjam Studio, the Martyr Noila School of Fine Arts, and the Women's Cinema, which produces films, music videos, and releases songs.

Diplomacy

Women dominate the political and diplomatic scene and are present at all international visits outside North and East Syria.

Recently, women have participated in negotiating committees with the transitional government in Syria, leading delegations.

Women in the region continue their activism and develop their diplomatic relations to build a women's confederation.

Conferences and Meetings

On August 8, 2024, the Zenobia Women's Gathering held the Sociology of Freedom Conference.

On August 20 of the same year, the Women's Council of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) held its third conference.

On September 25-26, 2024, the Academy of Jineoloji in North and East Syria held its second conference.

On October 2, 2024, the Star Conference, as part of the "Freedom for Leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Solution to the Kurdish Question" initiative, organized the Sociology of Freedom Conference.

On October 7, 2024, the Armenian Women's Union held its second conference.

On March 23, the first Kurdish Women's Conference was held in Rojava, with the participation of approximately 300 delegates from political parties, women's organizations and movements, intellectuals, writers, artists, journalists, and independent figures, as well as representatives of the institutions of the Democratic Autonomous Administration and women from Aleppo and Damascus.

On May 8, the Women's Council of the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) held its first conference.

On May 15-17, the first conference of the Neda Alliance was held in Sulaymaniyah, Southern Kurdistan, with the participation of representatives from North and East Syria.

On May 27, the Zenobia Women's Gathering in the provinces of Raqqa, Tabqa, and Deir ez-Zor held a special conference on the co-chair system.

On June 23, the Kongra Star held a special conference on the joint presidency.

On July 12, Syriac, Chaldean, and Assyrian women from inside and outside Syria held the first Syriac Women's Conference in Qamishlo.

We hope that the co-presidency system will be implemented throughout Syria.

Feryal Qasoum, co-chair of the Electricity Corporation in the city of Jal Agha, from Idlib, expressed her happiness with the co-chair system and commented on women's work and activities, saying, "The Star Conference protects women from all types of violations. We hope that the women's system will be implemented in Rojava, in Damascus, Idlib, the coast, and throughout Syria."

For her part, Josephine Soum, head of the Syriac Women's Union in Syria in Qamishlo, pointed to the involvement of women in all political, civil, cultural, security, and military fields after the outbreak of the revolution in Rojava and North and East Syria. She said, "Syriac women, along with Kurdish and Arab women, were able to break the restrictions imposed on them and work within the social system of the autonomous administration, achieving the benefit of co-chair. We were able to strengthen our organization and take charge of our own affairs."

Shaha Barjas Saeed, a member of the Star Conference Council in the city of Amuda, stated that women in North and East Syria have achieved their rights, and that the Autonomous Administration provides all women from various components with the opportunity to strengthen their organization in accordance with their history and culture. Saeed emphasized the continuation of their struggle for Syrian women.

In the Transitional Government...

After the fall of the Ba'ath regime (December 8, 2024) and the assumption of power by the transitional government in Syria, led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, women's rights and the rights of the people have not been guaranteed, and there is still no glimmer of hope that they will guarantee the rights of women and sects.

ANHA