Activists: There is no real representation of women in Damascus authority

Activists and politicians from North and East Syria highlighted in their conversation with ANHA's agency the policies pursued by the Damascus authority towards women, considering that they systematically aim to obscure their real role by excluding them from positions of influence and decision-making centers.

In this context, the Secretary-General of the Kurdistan Future Movement, Narin Metini, said that the Damascus authority seeks to mislead public opinion by promoting an illusory image of women's empowerment, through appointing women to leadership positions without them being actual representatives of women's issues or struggles.

She added that some of these women are influenced by the regime's ideology due to continuous indoctrination or vested interests, while others find themselves in these positions under pressure from economic or security conditions, without possessing independent will or a liberating vision.

Narin Metini explained that authoritarian regimes often resort to these formal methods to contain women's movements and beautify their image in front of society, realizing that an aware woman poses a real threat to the prevailing patriarchal structure.

She concluded by saying: "To confront this, it is up to women politicians, activists in women's councils, women's organizations, and independent activists to expose the falsehood of this discourse and build a liberatory women's project that restores women's role in real change."

For her part, the administrator in the Syrian Women's Council and member of the Democratic Union Party, Arifa Bakr, said, "Despite the fall of the Ba'ath regime, the mentality imposed on women has not changed; rather, the suffering has doubled."

She added: "Syria is a mosaic, it cannot be reduced to one color, language, or identity, but the current government represents an extension of the Ba'athist regime and has not changed its practices."

She criticized the representation of women within the Damascus authority, pointing out that the only woman who appears in the forefront operates according to the state's mentality and does not represent the true voice of women.

Meanwhile, in northern and eastern Syria, Arifa confirmed that women organized themselves within the revolution and proved their presence in various fields, especially in the fight against ISIS, as well as in diplomacy, economics, organization, politics, and society.

She emphasized that women in North and East Syria do not accept the government in its current form, and have offered alternatives for many years. They refuse to return to the tragedy of the Ba'athist era, and instead demand a decentralized democratic government that reflects the aspirations of the people. She stressed, saying: "We will continue to struggle until we obtain our rights, and work towards building a decentralized, pluralistic democratic Syria, where the rights of women and the community in all its components are preserved, and where equality and justice are achieved."

T/S

ANHA