The current24:51Meet the Syrian women who are demanding a role in the country’s future
As Alma Salem crossed the border from Lebanon into Syria, he asked the driver to stop.
She fled the country 13 years ago, when the authoritarian government of Bashar al-Assad opposed pro-democracy protests with military force, plunging the country into civil war. U the collapse of the Assad regime in December he allowed her to return home from Montreal where she had been living, for the first time since the beginning of the war.
He got out of the car, knelt down and kissed the ground, breathing in its familiar scent.
“I thought that (I would) just go back to Syria buried, you know, right in that land. But I came alive and I could hold it in my hand,” Salem, executive director of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, said. The currentMatt Galloway’s host.
“I felt that I owned the country. I felt … that all of Syria is mine.”
For Syrians like Salem, the end of the war has brought joy and renewed dreams of what the future may hold. The current spoke with Salem and two other Syrian activists about their visions for the country’s future and the obstacles that remain to getting there.
Alma Salem
Since returning, Salem says the feeling of celebration in Syria is like a “never-ending party.” It is often noisy, filled with the sounds of drums and voices, he said. People can speak freely for the first time without fear that their views might get them into trouble Assad’s secret police.
“I think we’ve taken over the public space again,” Salem said.
Salem says now is the time for Syrians abroad to return home. Some six million Syrian refugees resettled in the world since 2011, and the transitional government asked the 1.5 million or more in Lebanon to return earlier this month.
Those who return will be able to participate in building the new Syria from the ground up – something that all citizens have fought so hard for and share in the victory, says Salem.
“It’s a country that’s ours now, and we deserve the opportunity,” Salem said.
Salem says it is critical that women have a role in Syria’s political structure as its population builds a new post-Assad society. But it’s also something to worry about.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the rebel group that overthrew the government and became the de facto leadership of the country in December, they have a poor record when it comes to women’s rights, including reports of blocking women’s access to education and requiring women to be accompanied by a male guardian in public in the past.
Aisha al-Dibs, the new head of the women’s affairs office in Syria, he told Al Jazeera that his government was committed to engaging women in social, political and cultural institutions – but raised shouts when she said that women should not “go beyond the priorities of their nature given by God” and remember the educational role they have in a family.
These words sparked a wave of anger among Syrian feminists, according to Salem. Despite this, he remains optimistic that those with the power listens to the women in their country.
Salem organized a conference this month, attended by about 300 politicians, political representatives, journalists and members of civil society groups, who share the ideas of women involved in Syrian politics.
“This was, you know, a good sign for us that they recognized our … statements and demands for women’s political participation,” Salem said.
Noura Aljizawi
Noura Aljizawi, a Syrian human rights activist who played a key role in the 2011 uprisingalso fled to Canada from Syria during the war. He hasn’t left Toronto to visit the house, but is planning a trip there soon.
It will be the first time her daughter sees the village and meets Aljizawi’s father – a dream her family thought could never come true.
Before power changed hands in December, Aljizawi was losing hope of ever returning home or seeing his family in person.
“But now anything is possible. And the dream is just coming true now,” he told Galloway.
She says the first step towards rebuilding Syria must be accountability.
WARNING: This video includes a description of torture. Omar Alshogre, a former Syrian political prisoner who escaped starvation and torture in Bashar al-Assad’s prison system, says the joy he felt in seeing the regime collapse was worth “all the pain, all the sufferings, all the fears, all the disappointments, all the betrayal.’
Amnesty International estimates that tens of thousands of civilians disappeared after the political protests in 2011. Many were thrown into prison for being tortured, starved or executed. Up to 13,000 people were executed in the notorious Saydnaya Prison between 2011 and 2016 according to Amnesty International.
With the old regime gone, prisons full of prisoners were released. But Aljizawi says many people are still missing – including some of his family. People deserve answers about where their missing relatives are, he says.
“The truth must be told, and the victims must be heard,” Aljizawi said.
“The alternative to justice is revenge. And we don’t want … victims who seek revenge against the perpetrators.”
However, Aljizawi says the hardest work is done – rooting out the authoritarian regime. “Nothing is impossible after that.”
Azza Kondakji
Azza Kondakji was persecuted by the Assad regime for her activist work. But he never left the country, opting instead to stay and help other Syrians through the civil war.
She also wanted to be there to witness the moment her country was liberated – which she says she still believes will come. “It was the hope that kept me in the country,” he told Galloway.
With that moment finally in the rearview mirror, Kondakji says cleanup and reconstruction efforts will be a huge task — as much of the country’s infrastructure and essential services have been decimated by years of fighting.
A Analysis 2022 by the World Bank estimated total damage across the nation at $8.7-11.4 billion US ($12.48-16.35 billion Cdn). Kondakji says rebuilding Syria will require other countries to provide economic support and lift their Assad-era sanctions.
Kondakji hopes that with some support, the next generation of Syrians will carry the torch to build a peaceful future.
An esteemed 2.4 million children are still out of school in Syria – either because their families have been displaced, they can no longer afford to be in the classroom, or their classrooms have been destroyed in the fighting, according to Kondakji. Many suffer with the emotional burden of witnessing the war, too, and need psychosocial support.
Kondakji envisions a future where Syrian children can grow up in schools that promote creativity as opposed to fear, and where dreams of becoming a scientist or an artist or a world leader can come true.
“Syria’s next generation has the potential to redefine what it means to be a Syrian — not through pain, but through pride and hope,” Kondakji said.
“They embody the dream of a nation that can stand tall once more, like a phoenix reborn.”
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2025-01-25 12:00:00
