"Women Unite to Build a Free, Democratic Syria"

On September 20, Kongra Star and the Zenobia Women’s Gathering held a conference in the city of Hasakah, in al-Jazira canton, under the title: “The Women’s Alliance: A Basis for Building Justice and Democracy in a Unified, Decentralized Syria.” The conference was attended by politicians, lawyers, intellectuals, and women representatives from Arab tribes in North and East Syria, Aleppo, the coastal region, and Damascus. Around 700 delegates participated, while women from Swedia joined via Zoom.

Among the conference’s outcomes was the decision to launch a campaign advocating for a decentralized Syria and highlighting the role of women in Syria’s future.

On October 12, Kongra Star and the Zenobia Women’s Gathering announced, through a joint statement delivered in Qamishlo and Raqqa, the official launch of the campaign “With the Alliance of Women, We Will Build a Free, Democratic, and Decentralized Syria.”

The statement explained that the campaign would continue until November 12, and would consist of three stages.

Women from North and East Syria, Druze women, and Alawite activists from Homs and Damascus participated in the campaign by sending recorded video messages.

According to information obtained from Kongra Star, women from the coastal region were unable to send support videos due to fear of the Syrian transitional government.

In these videos, women discussed issues related to women’s rights, the role of women in Syria’s future, and the concept of a decentralized Syria, thus concluding the first stage of the campaign.

As part of the second stage, an online seminar was held, with the participation of women from North and East Syria, as well as Alawite, Druze, and European women, aiming to convey the demands of Syrian women to international institutions, and to organizations concerned with human rights and women’s rights. These seminars will continue to be held in the coming period.

In addition, activists and intellectuals from various Syrian communities are writing letters and articles expressing the demands of Syrian women. Several have already been completed, and once finalized, they will be submitted to relevant international institutions.

In the third stage, a dialogue seminar will be held in Raqqa, though the date has not yet been set.

Many women’s organizations and activists from Germany, Italy, Belgium, South Africa, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Catalonia, Iraq, and Lebanon have supported the campaign by sending video messages of solidarity.

In total, 15 videos were received from within Syria and 25 from abroad, and participation continues to grow.

Some of the groups that joined the campaign from outside Syria include:
Women Defend Rojava, the youth group Resisto, Controtendenza, the Si Cobas union, the Courage women’s organization, Global Tapestry, Grassroots to Global, Rete Jin, the La Roche Theological Association, Dresden and Hassan for Peace, the Research Center and the Organization for the Protection of Women’s Rights in Brussels, as well as women’s groups from Ponente Ligure and Turin in Italy, and the Women’s Council in the Netherlands.

In addition, dozens of individual women sent personal video messages of support, including the writer Margaret Own.

ANHA