future now”

Chapter One
Historical development of
women’s activism in Syria
The 1950s are generally regarded as the democratic
phase in Syria’s modern history due
to the political and social freedoms the era
enjoyed. This atmosphere highly influenced
women’s activism and lobbying, which resulted
in the rise of pioneering groups advocating for women’s
rights 1 . Some of these emerged as women-only branches
of political parties that were otherwise mainly dominated
by men, as women did not hold decision-making positions
in politics at the time. The focus of the women’s groups
revolved around women’s empowerment and raising their
professional and educational skills, in which fighting illiteracy
was a major activity. In addition, the state approved
the registration of many non-governmental organizations
and charities. In 1958, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the president
of the short-lived political union between Syria and
Egypt known as the United Arab Republic 2 , imposed the
dissolution of political parties. Nevertheless, some of the
women’s groups affiliated with these parties refused to do
so and carried out their activities with no effect on their
groups’ registration.
8
In 1971, when Hafez Al Assad seized power, the Al Baath
Party was named the state party 3 , and all civil society
groups were subsequently listed under the party’s unions;
women’s groups were asked to be listed under the General
Women’s Union 4 (GWU). No women’s organizations were
granted registration if not listed in the union, except for a
few groups that had close ties with the regime. Some women’s
groups refused to merge with GWU, such as the Syrian
Motherhood and Childhood Association (SMCA) which
continued to work regardless of the newly imposed law
of registration. At the time, the groups’ work consisted of
providing skills and empowerment trainings alongside organizing
numerous panel discussions on women’s issues
such as equality and legal reforms. By the late 1980s, the
discourse against gender stereotyping began to appear and
resulted in the defection of women’s organizations from
male-dominated political parties 5 . Women’s groups advocated
feminist ideals by calling for the solidarity and support
of working-class and rural women.
During the 1990s, women’s groups organized panel discussions
on definitions of gender and how society plays a
major role in shaping it. Furthermore, the era witnessed
numerous campaigns launched against violence against
women. In 1995, women’s organizations, as well as the
vast majority of civil society groups in Syria 6 , participated
for the first time in the Fourth World Conference on
Women (FWCW): Action for Equality, Development and
Peace convened by the United Nations in Beijing, China 7 .
The conference played a huge role in allowing civil society
organizations to voice their criticism of state policy and
suggest reforms.
With Bashar Al-Assad’s inheritance of his father’s rule in
2000, the country witnessed a brief celebration of freedom
of expression 8 and the establishment of intellectual and
political forums. This paved the way for the establishment
of small intellectual and elitist women’s groups. More issues
related to women emerged on the agenda, such as
divorce and so-called honour crimes, and how they both
affect women, and sit-ins calling for women’s right to citizenship
and celebrating International Women’s Day were
organized. The regime applied some artificial reforms
when beneficial for its rule. For example, in October 2011,
Bashar Al-Assad issued the presidential decree number
1 9 which maximized the punishment of so-called honour
crimes from five to seven years in prison. However, it did
not address the original violation of women’s rights itself,
but made the regime appear as if it was carrying out
reforms to improve the status of women’s rights in the
country, possibly to boost its international image.
In general, women’s rights activism, in comparison with
political and other human rights, enjoyed a relative space
of freedom. However, and specifically after the assassination
of Rafic Harriri 10 , this space began to recede. The