Syrian women are facing major challenges amid the transitional phase Syria is currently undergoing, particularly regarding their limited genuine representation in transitional justice processes and constitution drafting. Their presence remains largely symbolic, threatening to marginalize their rights and overlook serious violations they have suffered, including arbitrary detention and gender-based violence.
Women currently account for only between 4.35% and 10.48% of representation in transitional institutions and bodies. Women’s movements and civil society organizations consider these figures low and insufficient to meet the aspirations for effective participation in decision-making.
Women make up only 10.48% of the People’s Assembly, with 22 female members out of a total of 210 members. At the highest decision-making levels, the overall representation rate stands at around 6.41%. As for senior executive positions, the percentage drops sharply to just 1.33%. Regarding the issue of missing persons and documentation, women constitute around 80% of the families of missing persons and of those involved in documentation and efforts to seek justice. However, this significant role and field-level effort are not reflected in law-drafting committees, transitional bodies, or decision-making institutions.
This exclusion results in crimes committed against women being absent from accountability processes and prevents the establishment of a comprehensive, impartial, and fair justice process for all victims.
In this context, human rights advocate Rojin Khosho said that it is difficult to speak of an inclusive and democratic transitional phase without the genuine and effective participation of Syrian women.
She pointed out that women are not merely a group affected by war and crises, but an essential part of society. She emphasized that women have an active and leading role in decision-making, peacebuilding, and achieving justice, explaining that excluding women means excluding half of society from shaping the country’s future.
The human rights advocate stressed the need for women’s participation to be genuine within the institutions, committees, and bodies responsible for managing the transitional phase and drafting laws and policies.
Rojin expressed concern that key issues affecting Syrian women could be marginalized in the absence of their effective participation in the transitional phase. These include their exclusion from the transitional process, the absence of accountability for gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence, and the neglect of the specific challenges and violations faced by displaced women and those subjected to forced displacement. They also include the erosion of the rights of women who have lost their breadwinners, as well as issues related to property and inheritance, and the absence of social protection mechanisms and legal and economic empowerment for women during the reconstruction phase.
Regarding the legal guarantees that can ensure women’s rights during the transitional phase, the human rights advocate explained that these should begin with the constitution and laws that establish the principles of equality and non-discrimination and protect women’s rights. They should also guarantee women’s representation in transitional institutions and establish mechanisms to prevent the adoption of any legislation that undermines their rights.
Rojin emphasized the need to harmonize national legislation with international conventions concerning women’s rights, in addition to establishing independent judicial and oversight institutions capable of intervening when violations occur.
Regarding women’s participation in transitional justice, she noted that women should be partners at every stage of the transitional justice process, including through their participation in fact-finding committees, accountability mechanisms, reparation programs, and the formulation of policies and decisions related to transitional justice. There should also be meaningful participation by the survivors themselves, while taking into account the particular nature of their experiences and providing a safe environment that allows them to give testimony without fear or social stigma.
Human rights advocate Rojin Khosho concluded by emphasizing the need to take into account the specific nature of the violations suffered by women during the years of war in the transitional justice process.
ANHA