What is in Store for Women in the New Syria?
The new rebel coalition, HTS, after taking over the control of Syria and ousting the dictator, Bashar al-Assad, has claimed that women’s rights will be protected in the country. The HTS and its leader Abu Mohammed al-Julani are true followers of Sharia law. How will they reconcile women’s rights and a conventional interpretation of Sharia law? Will the HTS include women in the new government? People responded to the journalists’ questions expressing hope that the new regime would not oppress women, they would let the girls study and not meddle with what women want to wear. Many women expressed fear about how things would unfold. Women activists have demanded that women get due representation and a significant role in nation-building. Syria can surprise you with its great cultural diversity and the different ways women live, presenting a wide spectrum of lifestyles from ultra-orthodox to ultra-modern. Very few people remember that Syria had an all-women private militia that ...
