Journey of Syrian women through history, society

The presence of Syrian women in the public sphere is not a phenomenon of recent decades; rather, it is a gradual historical trajectory extending from ancient times to the contemporary era. This path has witnessed periods of advancement and decline and has always been linked to the context of the political and social transformations experienced by the country. While ancient history recorded female models in governance and administration in historic Syrian cities such as Palmyra and Ugarit, the qualitative shift in the trajectory of women’s organization effectively began in the late nineteenth century with the emergence of forms of organized civic work.

On the occasion of March 8, International Women’s Day, we highlight the journey of women’s empowerment in Syria, reviewing the most prominent stages of progress that strengthened their presence in various fields, as well as periods of regression imposed by successive political and social circumstances. This historical reading seeks to achieve a deeper understanding of the path of Syrian women’s struggle and their role in building society.

An ancient legacy and a continuous social presence

Archaeological and historical studies indicate that women in ancient Syrian civilizations participated in economic and religious life and held roles in managing property and temples, as shown in the archives of cities such as Ugarit and Mari. During the Roman and Byzantine periods, women’s participation continued in both social and religious spheres, although it remained governed by prevailing traditional structures.

During the Islamic and Ottoman eras, women maintained their presence in fields such as religious endowments, religious education, and charitable work, particularly in major cities like Damascus and Aleppo. There, they contributed to establishing endowments, schools, and hospitals within the framework of community-based civic work.

The late nineteenth century: from individual initiatives to public awareness

With the second half of the nineteenth century, and within the context of the Ottoman reforms known as the “Tanzimat,” the features of a cultural feminist awareness began to emerge in urban centers. Women’s literary salons appeared; among the earliest of these was a women’s literary salon established in the 1870s. It served as a cultural space where writers and intellectuals gathered to discuss issues of reform, education, and the role of women.

Syrian women also participated in international exhibitions, including the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. These initiatives represented a transition from individual expression to a broader female public sphere and laid the foundations for the phase of organized associations in the early twentieth century.

Early women’s magazines also appeared, addressing issues such as education, women’s status, and their image in society, including the magazine Al-Arous (1910–1925), which contributed to shaping a written reformist feminist discourse.

The Early twentieth century: establishing associations and social work

During the First World War (1914–1918), women’s roles in relief work expanded as famine and epidemics intensified, strengthening their presence as an organized component of the public sphere.

In the final years of the Ottoman era and the early period of the French Mandate (1920), women’s associations were established in Damascus, Aleppo, and other cities. These associations focused on women’s education, literacy programs, and the care of orphans and the poor.

During the 1920s and 1930s, the women’s movement began linking charitable work with social and political reform. Women’s conferences were held in Damascus, presenting demands related to raising the legal age of marriage, reforming personal status laws, and expanding educational and employment opportunities for women. This stage marked a turning point, as women moved from social charity to openly demanding civil rights.

Syrian women between resistance and national action

Parallel to this organizational trajectory, women had a prominent presence in the national struggle against the French Mandate. Beginning in 1920, women participated around the Battle of Maysalun and contributed to support and assistance efforts during the initial confrontations, in a pivotal moment in the history of the modern Syrian state.

During the Great Syrian Revolt, women performed multiple roles, including carrying messages and supplies, treating the wounded, sheltering fighters, and organizing donation campaigns and public support in cities. Their presence was not merely symbolic but formed part of the social structure that helped sustain the national movement.

Within this context, female figures emerged who combined national and social activism. Among them was Nazik al-Abid (1887–1959), who became involved early in resisting the French occupation and participated in the Battle of Maysalun alongside the then Minister of War. She also founded the “Nur al-Fayhaa” Association to support girls’ education and empowerment, advocating for women’s participation in public and political life.

Another example was Roshen Bedir Khan (1909–1992), whose experience reflected the intersection of national and cultural dimensions. Born in exile in 1909, she moved to Damascus in 1913 and worked in education from 1925. In the 1930s, she contributed to publishing the magazine Hawar and was among the first Kurdish women to write using the Latin alphabet.

In 1934 she joined a women’s association and participated in a women’s conference held in Cairo in 1945. Later, she turned to translation and literary writing, publishing works including Memoirs of a Woman and My Love and My Palace.

Through these experiences, national struggle intertwined with the development of women’s organization, and the concept of independence gradually became linked with expanding women’s rights in education and public participation.

1949–1953: securing political rights

After independence in 1946, demands for full political participation increased. In 1949 Syrian women were granted the right to vote, and in 1953 this right expanded to include candidacy for parliamentary elections under the new constitution of that year. This represented an advanced milestone compared with several countries in the region and confirmed the transition of the women’s movement from the social margins to the official political arena.

1967: official containment and restructuring of women’s work

With the Ba'ath Party’s rise to power in 1963 and the establishment of the General Women’s Union in 1967, women’s activism was reorganized within a single official framework. Activities became limited to licensed women’s work directly connected to the state. The union defined itself as a popular organization for women in Syria with legal personality, but it was closely linked to the Baath Party and worked within a framework shaped by prevailing patriarchal ideology.

Despite the expansion of education and employment opportunities for women in the following decades, major legal reforms particularly in personal status and nationality laws remained subjects of ongoing debate without fundamental change.

2011 and after: new activism and diverse platforms

With the outbreak of protests in 2011, women participated in demonstrations as well as media and relief work, and many were subjected to arrest or enforced disappearance. As the conflict turned into an armed struggle and millions of Syrians were displaced, dozens of women’s initiatives and organizations emerged inside the country and in countries of asylum.

These organizations focused on documenting violations, advocating for detainees, addressing issues of transitional justice, promoting economic empowerment, and combating gender-based violence. Syrian women’s networks also became involved in regional and international platforms, calling for guarantees of women’s representation in political solution processes based on UN Security Council resolutions concerning women, peace, and security.

March 8 in Syria

March 8 was not widely recognized in its true context as a day for demanding freedom until the 1980s. Instead, the date coincided annually with the anniversary of the Baath Party’s rise to power in Syria, which prevented other celebrations.

Celebrations of International Women’s Day itself were therefore extremely limited and far removed from the spirit of the occasion. Leftist parties commemorated the day secretly and in closed settings, with symbolic speeches and the honoring of some women, without any reflection in the public sphere or mass character befitting the occasion.

In Rojava, the actual history of women’s struggle began with the arrival of leader Abdullah Ocalan in Syria and Rojava in 1979. This marked an important stage in the region’s women’s struggle. As in other parts of Kurdistan, women’s activism in Rojava effectively began in 1980 and was based on the principles “No life without women” and “A free woman means a free society.”

After the first women’s organization in Europe was established in 1987 under the name Kurdistan National Women’s Union (YJWK), women from Rojava also joined this union actively, organizing many activities in Rojava and achieving significant developments in terms of “love of the homeland and women’s self-esteem and organization.”

Women in Rojava considered International Women’s Day a source and starting point for struggle and thus began celebrating it. The first celebration was organized secretly in 1987 in a house in the city of Qamishlo, and this pattern continued until 2000, with celebrations limited to homes.

In the regions of North and East Syria, an administrative model emerged recognizing the principle of co-chairmanship and gender parity in local institutions, allowing a different experience in women’s representation within administrative structures. In contrast, women’s organizations in other regions faced legal and security restrictions that limited their activities.

Women in North and East Syria

With the beginning of the Rojava Revolution in 2012, in which women played a pioneering role, fertile ground emerged for reviving the ideology of the free woman within society and authority for all women in North and East Syria and the world. What distinguished the Rojava Revolution from previous revolutions was the organization of women in all fields and the continuity of developing this organization while preserving its women-centered character throughout the revolution, which led many to describe it as a women’s revolution.

Women demonstrated their presence in all fields, organizing themselves in political, diplomatic, military, civil, and other arenas. More than twenty women’s bodies operate in North and East Syria, including: Kongra Star (founded in 2005), the Women’s Council in North and East Syria (established in 2019), the Syrian Women’s Council (established in 2017), the Sara Organization to Combat Violence Against Women (founded in 2013), the Women’s House for Training and Awareness (2013), the Women’s Authority in North and East Syria (2014), the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) formed in March 2013, the Internal Security Forces – Women, the field of Jineology (the science of women), which opened its first academy in Afrin in July 2017, the Young Women’s Union, and the Women’s Media Union, in addition to women’s communes. Every institution, body, and administration also has a committee dedicated to women’s affairs.

Women have also played significant roles in political and diplomatic fields, participating in international forums and lectures addressing the Syrian crisis and discussing issues related to the Middle East.

The current situation of Syrian women

With the fall of the Baath regime on December 8, 2024, and the rise of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham to power, new policies were introduced that reduced women’s roles and rights and restricted personal and educational freedoms. Many legal reforms that previously supported women were also abolished, leading to a significant decline in their political and social participation, as well as exclusion and marginalization in many fields.

These developments have sparked waves of criticism and protests and raise many questions about the role women will play under the new political system and whether they will have a place within it.

ANHA