Syrian politician: exclusion of YPJ from army contradicts national unity goals

Syrian politician and academic Lama al-Atassi spoke about the importance and necessity of including the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) within the structure of the Syrian army.

Al-Atassi stated that women's participation in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) project was a significant positive development. She noted that discussing the integration of the SDF with the Syrian army to achieve national unity contradicts the exclusion of the YPJ from this process.

She believes that the lack of women's participation in the army is not unique to Syria but extends to various countries in the Levant, necessitating a rational approach and the search for clear solutions.

Lama al-Atassi called for a discussion of the obstacles preventing Syrian women from joining and integrating into the Syrian army, examining the criteria for such integration and the reasons for gender discrimination in the treatment of men and women.

On April 2nd, the leadership of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) met with the Minister of Defense in the Syrian Interim Government, Marhaf Abu Qasra, in Damascus.

The YPJ revealed that the meeting aimed to discuss mechanisms for integrating its forces into the Ministry of Defense and the structure of the Syrian army, as part of completing the implementation of the January 29th agreement signed with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

They explained that the meeting addressed the organizational and legal aspects related to the integration process, in addition to discussing the role of women in the new Syrian army. They indicated that the Minister of Defense expressed "flexibility and willingness" to continue the dialogue on practical formulas that would allow women's participation in the military establishment. However, to date, this issue has not seen any significant changes.

ANHA