Moroccan human rights activist calls on Syrian women to benefit from NE,Syria experience

As March 8 approaches, International Women's Day, Moroccan human rights activist Khadija Riyadi spoke to ANHA's agency about the reality of Middle Eastern women and Syrian women in particular.

Khadija Riyadi began her talk by referring to the sacrifices of women in the Middle East, saying: "Women in the Middle East have made many sacrifices, whether under authoritarian regimes or during periods of war and armed conflict, and also under the domination and control of extremist groups. Some of them are still making great sacrifices, such as Palestinian women, whose people were subjected to an unprecedented war of genocide in modern history, and in the face of it they accomplished the most wonderful epics of steadfastness and defiance."

She added that what the Syrian woman experienced was no less, as she was subjected to the most heinous violations and crimes, as part of the Syrian people who lived in misery under a dictatorial, authoritarian regime and were forced to flee due to the war and armed conflict that broke out in the country.

"The fall of Bashar al-Assad does not mean the fall of dictatorship"

Khadija al-Riyadi noted that the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on December 8, 2024, does not necessarily mean the fall of dictatorship. The construction phase is no less difficult than the time of war and conflict.

She stressed that the transitional phase requires "a strong presence of women in an organized and coordinated manner so that their rights are not sacrificed within the framework of political agreements between the various parties, especially when the head of the pyramid of power has a reactionary orientation that does not believe in equality or the role of women in building peace, which places the progressive Syrian women's movement before a major challenge in light of the balance of power that is not in its favor."

She continued: "These challenges require it to create the necessary alliances, the necessary mobilization, a strong presence, and the development of struggle strategies capable of creating a new balance of power in its favor, so that its demands are taken seriously and receive attention."

She pointed out that "the Syrian women's movement has undertaken many initiatives and put forward demands of great importance, because they link the future of women to democracy and emphasize the necessity of committing to a radical change in the structure of the authoritarian regime in Syria towards a democratic, pluralistic state."

 “No one will defend women’s interests but them” She stated that “her keenness on a mandatory minimum for women’s representation in political institutions is also a fundamental issue; because no one will defend women’s interests but them. Her adherence to peaceful and political solutions to all controversial issues, whatever they may be, is a strategic choice to spare the country from falling back into a state of war and armed conflict, the disastrous consequences of which are always harsher on women. As for her demand for transitional justice, it is a basic legal requirement, as it is a necessary stage for the political transition towards democracy and a civil state built on the standards of a state of law and justice. Actual transitional justice is that which is built on justice and not impunity for those involved in crimes committed against the Syrian people, regardless of their source and perpetrators. Its success also requires agreement on a constitution that stipulates the complete sovereignty of the Syrian people and the separation of powers, and guarantees their right to self-determination, the unity of their territories, and their independence from any external forces, whatever they may be.”

She also pointed out that "Syrian women have a long experience in the struggle for democracy and human rights and for women's effective participation in all aspects of life, and for legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees dignity and full citizenship for women."

Regarding the role of Syrian women in playing their part in the new phase and the ways to guarantee their rights, she said: "They are able to impose their participation in building peace. They will spare no effort in forming the broadest national, regional and international coalitions, in order to work to achieve the goals of UN Security Council Resolution 1,325, which is based on the fact that there is no peace without women participating in building it. The goal is a civil, democratic state, a state of citizenship and the rule of law, fortified by a democratic constitution and legislation and institutions subject to it, that is, a just state that guarantees the rights of all its citizens, men and women, without discrimination of any kind, capable of guaranteeing women's rights, their participation and representation, and eliminating all forms of discrimination against them."

Ways to ensure the future of Syrian women

She added, "It is natural that after constitutionalizing women's rights, this entails enacting legislative, economic, social, cultural, religious and educational policies that achieve the support of women's participation in various fields and levels on the basis of equality, and enhancing their economic status in a way that achieves the fair distribution of wealth not only among the various social classes, categories and components that make up the Syrian people, but also among its women and men."

She noted, "Ensuring a better future for women requires reforming education and teaching curricula in a way that makes it a means of spreading open rational thought and educating on universal human values. It also requires neutralizing religious institutions from partisan and political activity, and seeking to establish a cultural policy that respects the diversity of the Syrian people's cultures, in addition to enhancing the culture of dialogue, respecting pluralism, and the peaceful and democratic management of differences."

Explaining that: “This also depends on working to monitor and direct media institutions to seek the same goals, and using them to promote human thought based on noble human and legal values, and spreading the culture of equality and rejecting discrimination and stereotypical and reactionary ideas about women, and using the media in awareness campaigns against violence and extremism towards women and girls.”

The experience of North and East Syria must be fortified

At the end of her speech, Moroccan human rights activist Khadija al-Riyadi called on Syrian women to organize themselves and benefit from the experience of women in North and East Syria. She said: “Syrian women have important experiences, not only in struggle and organization, but also in achieving tangible gains for women, such as the pioneering experience of women in North and East Syria, which achieved very advanced legislative, political and economic gains for women. It is an experience that must be fortified and preserved, and it may even constitute a reference at the legislative, political and institutional levels for building a model of democratic societal organization for the new Syria, in which women’s rights are at the core of the new societal project.”

T/ S

ANHA