Progress Amid Resistance

SYRIA 461Many women, particularly those living in rural areas, do not fully un -derstand their legal rights and cede what rights they do have in responseto social or family pressure. This is particularly evident with respect toproperty rights. The unequal inheritance rights mandated by Shari‘a-basedlaws are commonly justified by the requirement that men provide for thewomen in their family, but women often turn over the entirety of theirin heritance to their brothers to keep it in the family. Such practices greatlyexacerbate women’s financial dependence on men.Opposition to increased women’s rights comes from Islamic fundamentalistgroups as well as from conservative customs that relegate women toa secondary position in society and continue to hold greater sway thanformal law for many Syrians. Society expects women to shoulder domesticre sponsibilities, and it imposes on them the burden of upholding the family’shonor. Failure to conform to social norms draws sharp pressure fromwithin the family and from society at large, culminating in murder in somecases. The government often appeases such sentiments on women’s rightsfor broader political purposes. 4The lack of a free public sphere makes it difficult for activists to operate,whether by lobbying the government for changes in the law or workingwithin society to raise awareness and change public attitudes. Access tothe Internet, however, is changing this reality. When a retrogressive draftpersonal status was leaked to the public in early 2009, civil society actorsled a successful protest against its adoption, causing the government tocancel the draft. Despite this success, negative social attitudes, which areheld by both men and women, play a considerable role in discouragingwomen from taking advantage of what opportunities exist.NONDISCRIMINATION AND ACCESS TO JUSTICEAlthough there have been efforts to reform discriminatory legislation andpromulgate new laws that would protect women from discrimination, veryfew practical changes have been made in recent years. The government tooka major step forward by ratifying CEDAW in 2003, which has increasedthe amount of attention paid to women’s rights issues. However, the reservationsSyria filed upon ratification eviscerated much of the purpose of thetreaty. Access to justice for all Syrians remains limited, and the penal codecontains multiple provisions that discriminate against women with respectto the definition, evidentiary requirements, or sentencing for certain crimes.