Empowering women’s struggle in Syria: Key Outcomes of  Women’s Alliance Conference

Earlier today, Kongra Star and the Zenobia Women’s Gathering organized a conference in Hasaka under the slogan “Women’s Alliance as a Foundation for Justice and Democracy in Syria: Unified Decentralization,” attended by approximately 700 women political leaders, human rights activists, intellectuals, and activists from across Syria, including Damascus, the coast, and Aleppo, with additional participants from Sweida joining via Zoom.

The closing session opened the floor for discussion, which focused on unifying the position of Syrian women regarding developments in the country, fostering national unity, preparing a just constitution reflecting the aspirations of the Syrian people and its components, and preventing violations against women by elements affiliated with the Syrian transitional government.

The conference concluded with a final statement including the following recommendations and outcomes:

1. Call for a comprehensive national women’s conference as a unifying platform for Syrian women from all components, to formulate a shared vision for Syria’s future, draft constitutional foundations guaranteeing full equality and women’s rights, and protect and develop existing achievements.

2. Struggle for building a pluralistic, decentralized, and democratic Syria based on freedom and social justice, ensuring full equality among all components.

3. Demand amendments to the provisional constitutional declaration to guarantee women’s rights, fundamental freedoms, and enhanced democratic participation.

4. Reject the 20% quota for women in elections as insufficient and unreflective of women’s societal role, demanding at least 50% representation in all elections and leadership positions to establish genuine partnership and equality in decision-making.

5. Recognize the achievements of women in northern and eastern Syria as a national and women’s gain, working to consolidate and generalize them as a shared legacy for all Syrian women.

6. Launch a broad national and international women’s campaign advocating for a democratic, decentralized, pluralistic Syria founded on freedom and social justice.

7. Strengthen the Syrian women’s alliance by building a national network to unify women’s struggles across Syria, connecting women from all components to confront marginalization and exclusion.

8. Unite women’s struggle to organize, empower society, and establish a democratic, ethical, and ecological society, with women’s freedom as a foundational principle.

9. Institutionalize women’s political participation through fair and effective representation in administrative, governmental, and local councils.

10. Promote women’s role in building social trust, consolidating civil peace, contributing to peacebuilding, and rejecting violence and hate speech.

11. Establish tools for women’s self-protection through awareness, education, training, and community initiatives against all forms of violence.

12. Take effective measures to protect female politicians, leaders, and activists from organized media campaigns, including awareness, advocacy, legal support, and strengthening alternative media platforms to safely amplify their voices.

13. Highlight ethnic and religious diversity as a societal strength that fosters coexistence, solidarity, and social justice.

14. Develop economic and social programs empowering women to achieve self-reliance and participate in community reconstruction.

15. Ensure women’s active role in transitional justice processes, including truth-seeking, accountability, compensation, and national reconciliation, preventing repeated violations and promoting social justice.

16. Emphasize the importance of the safe return of forcibly displaced persons from occupied areas (Afrin, Serekaniye, Tal Abyad) to their homes, ensuring their rights, security, and stability.

17. Support Women’s Protection Units, recognizing their central role in protecting women and society, and reinforcing their participation in political and social efforts as a model of women’s empowerment in conflict contexts.

18. Enhance the women’s struggle in Syria by engaging and collaborating with international women’s movements to exchange experiences and amplify the voice of Syrian women as an active part of the global struggle for women’s rights.

a.k

ANHA