Women’s voices from Syria

Syria’s late-2024 regime change ushered in a transitional phase through 2030 under an interim government and constitution that references Islamic jurisprudence and concentrates power in an expanded presidential system. 

From the outset, women’s rights have been contested: Officials questioned women’s fitness for roles in defense and the judiciary, and the Women’s Affairs Office promoted a conservative, Sharia-based model while rejecting feminist groups and Western-backed NGOs.

Security and inclusion gaps are stark. A violent episode targeting the Alawite community in March 2025 included female, elderly, disabled, and child victims. 

Public-opinion data show women feel significantly less safe (63% vs. 74% of men) and less free (57% vs. 66%), with even lower protection reported by minority women—88% among Druze, Alawite, and Yazidi, and 73% among Christians.

Political representation lags as well. In the first parliamentary elections under the new system—140 seats indirectly elected and 70 appointed by the interim president—only six of the 119 voted seats went to women and ten to minority candidates, while most seats were captured by Sunni men from administrative and business elites. 

These trends highlight inconsistent protection of women’s rights and an urgent need for inclusive spaces where especially minority and disadvantaged-region women can assert their rights. 

The panel therefore convenes Syrian women experts to assess the current situation and chart practical avenues for solidarity in rights and representation.

Please fill this form to attend. 

Program

📅 Date: 24 November 2025

📍Place: Orient Institut İstanbul, Şahkulu Mah. Galip Dede Cad. No. 65 34421 Beyoğlu İstanbul

🕙 Time: 17:00 - 21:00

17:00 - 17:25 Registration & meet and greet

17:25 - 17:30 Welcoming remarks, Yonca Verdioğlu

17:30 - 18:30 Presentations of panelists

• Lina Gotouk, Syrian women between law and practice
• Kholoud Helmi, The role of media in advocacy for Syrian women rights
• Kinda Hawasli, Civil society as a safe space for Syrian women solidarity
• Meriç Çağlar, The role of Turkish feminist advocacy in amplifying Syrian women’s political agency

18:30 - 19:30: Q&A

19:30 - 19:35: Wrap

19:35 - 21:00: Side talks and exchanges over cocktail

About Lina Gotouk 

Syrian researcher and human rights specialist with over a decade of experience in the humanitarian and research sectors. She spent several years with Synaps, a research institute that shaped her path as both a researcher and advocate. Lina holds a Master’s degree in Human Rights from Saint Joseph University in Beirut, where her work explored the gendered impact of enforced disappearances. Her efforts aim to advance justice in Syria that honors victims’ dignity, rejects sectarian revenge, and promotes non-discrimination, accountability, and non-repetition. After years of forced displacement, Lina recently returned to Syria and now works with the Danish Refugee Council, where she advocates for an Area-Based Approach to humanitarian and development programming. Drawing on her extensive experience, she is dedicated to contributing to Syria’s recovery and building a just future for her people and country.

About Kholoud Helmi 

A gender and media expert, human rights advocate, and co-founder of Enab Baladi, an independent Syrian newspaper established in 2011 to document truth and challenge authoritarian narratives. She is a Chevening scholar with an MA in Media and Development from SOAS, University of London. Her work focuses on women’s participation in peacebuilding, human rights, and freedom of expression. She has received multiple international awards for her journalism, including the Anna Politkovskaya Award (2015) and the Courage Under Fire Award (2017). Kholoud is a member of the Families for Freedom movement, advocating for Syria’s detainees and forcibly disappeared, and currently serves as a Special Advisor on irregular migration.

About Kinda Hawasli 

The social unit manager at the Syrian Dialogue Center and a Co-Founder of the AlSalam Institute for Women’s Studies (SWS). A researcher interested in refugees, civil society, and women's issues. She holds a BA in civil engineering and an MA in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration at the University of London. She is also a fellow at Refugee International (RI).

About Meriç Çağlar

Expert in forced migration, disaster management, gender, and intersectionality. She completed the doctoral program in Gender Studies at Central European University, where her research focused on gender, displacement, and protection in humanitarian contexts. Çağlar has served as a researcher and consultant on numerous projects supported by the European Union and international organizations. Her work primarily addresses protection and gender-based violence in humanitarian settings, particularly in Türkiye and Syria. She has published widely in respected international academic journals.