Ilham Ahmed: Integration strengthens stability but weakens women’s role, Kurdish rights

Speaking at the 2026 Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Hawler on Monday, Kurdish politician Ilham Ahmed said, “Following the fall of Assad and the integration process between the SDF and the army, with armed factions incorporated into the army, we are seeing changes on the Syrian scene.”

She explained that “what happened in Syria was a revolution that is still in the process of completion,” adding that “Syria as a whole is undergoing a process of rebuilding.”

She noted that the integration process had significantly helped reconnect Syrian cities and reopen border crossings. She added that the process had made considerable progress so far and could be said to have helped establish a degree of stability.

She also pointed out that the experience of the Autonomous Administration remained in the minds of Syrians, as it had provided a model for women’s participation in public life and created a positive experience.

However, Ilham Ahmed said women’s role had diminished despite the integration process. She added, “We can therefore say that the integration process has achieved progress in one respect, but in another, it is still being put to the test.”

She added that “the integration process had brought recognition of the Kurdish people in Syria through a presidential decree acknowledging their existence, culture, language and status as an integral part of the Syrian people.” However, she said “the decree remained incomplete in its implementation, particularly regarding the right to education in the Kurdish language. She stressed that practical mechanisms were still needed to ensure its effective implementation.”

She noted, “We see, from time to time, a degree of disorder and ambiguity in the implementation of these decrees due to the lack of clarity surrounding the mechanisms for decisions issued by the Syrian government.”

Regarding recent tensions in the country, she attributed them “to entrenched sectarian and racist attitudes that continued to prevail in society, whether among certain domestic groups or regional actors seeking to undermine stability in Syria.”

For his part, Najeeb al-Ghadban, an adviser to Syria’s minister of foreign affairs and expatriates, described the integration of the Syrian Democratic Forces with Syria’s transitional government as “a major achievement,” noting that “the country’s security situation had improved.”

Al-Ghadban described the challenges facing Syria as “very significant,” stressing that the greatest challenge was economic, particularly combating poverty and rebuilding the country.

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ANHA