Women delegates weigh in on Syria’s national dialogue conference

DAMASCUS — Syria’s long-awaited national dialogue conference wrapped up on Tuesday, just two days after it was announced. Around 600 delegates from across Syria gathered at the Presidential Palace in Damascus to discuss seven key topics: transitional justice, social reconciliation, a new constitution, personal and public freedoms, civil society and the economy.

The purpose of the Syrian National Dialogue Conference was to develop a series of recommendations for Syria’s transitional government, building on priorities identified during preparatory sessions held across the country in previous weeks. The government has not clarified how the conference’s participants were selected. 

The conference’s concluding statement, issued on Tuesday, included calls for Damascus to speed the announcement of a “temporary constitutional declaration” and form an interim legislative council. It also emphasized the importance of free expression, human rights and “supporting the role of women in all fields.”

Syria Direct spoke to a handful of women who participated in the national dialogue as delegates to hear their perspectives on the conference, its outcomes and women’s representation at the event. 

Businesswoman Majd Chourbaji, who participated in the economy committee, said the conference was “well-organized.” However, “time was tight and people could only speak once,” she told Syria Direct on Tuesday.

Businesswoman Majd Chourbaji stands in the Presidential Palace in Damascus during the Syrian National Dialogue Conference, 25/2/2025 (Abd Almajed Alkarh/Syria Direct)

“The national dialogue should not end today,” Sawsan Abu Zeineddin, the executive director of the Syrian civil society network Madaniya, said. There should be “should be a dialogue process that extends over a sufficient period of time…to allow broader participation,” she added.

There should also be “accountability to know where the outcomes of the conference will go, and how they should contribute in a binding way to the formulation of this critical phase,” she added. Damascus has not yet communicated details of how the national dialogue’s recommendations will be integrated into the transitional phase.

Priorities

Despite the conference’s limited timeframe, “the issues that were put forth were solid, the most important of which was the sanctions on the Syrian people, since there is no regime left,” Chourbaji said. 

While the European Union eased sanctions on Syria’s energy, transport and banking sectors this week, United States restrictions remain on the banking sector and private investment, hindering large-scale reconstruction. International sanctions were initially imposed on the Assad regime, but are now being used as leverage over the current government in Damascus to influence the country’s political transition. 

Read more: As Syria embarks on fragile transition, sanctions stand in the way

Chourbaji stressed the importance of the economy and its link to “security…[and] political stability.” Economic recovery impacts other key concerns for Syria’s transition, including transitional justice and freedoms, she added. 

Zeineddin’s working group at the conference focused on the role of civil society. “Civic space is part and parcel of the statebuilding phase,” she said. “Protecting this civil space and its independence is, for me, the cornerstone to ensuring the political transition proceeds in the best form and does not lead us to setbacks or a return to authoritarianism.”

Sawsan Abu Zeineddin, the executive director of the Syrian civil society network Madaniya, stands in the Presidential Palace in Damascus during the Syrian National Dialogue Conference, 25/2/2025 (Afaf Jakmour/Syria Direct)

She, too, emphasized that the different topics discussed at the conference are “linked.” Civic work “starts at the level of the constitution in political rights that need to be respected: the right to demonstrate, the right to assembly, the right to freedom of expression and journalism, the right to form associations and to form political parties,” Zeineddin explained. “All these need to be constitutionally protected, then we move to laws,” including those governing civil society.

Amina Khoulani, a human rights activist and executive director of Adalaty, for her part described transitional justice as the first step “to own our country.” Arrested in 2013 for participating in peaceful sit-ins, she is a survivor of Assad’s prisons. “Today we are in the People’s Palace, talking about a new political life,” she said.

Amina Khoulani, a human rights activist and former regime detainee, stands in the Presidential Palace in Damascus during the Syrian National Dialogue Conference, 25/2/2025 (Abd Almajed Alkarh/Syria Direct)

But not everyone is in agreement as to the form that political life should take. Hanin Ahmad, a civil activist from Homs, said the discussion surrounding personal and public freedoms covered “freedom of affiliation and religion, cultural rights, and others.” However, political rights took up most space as they proved “controversial,” she said. 

“Some people were with absolute freedom of political life, others were in favor of a law that governs political parties, and others said it is not the time for [political] parties,” Ahmad recalled. “Personally, my opinion was that there must be absolutely open political life, whether [political] parties or civil society.”

Women’s role

The delegates Syria Direct spoke to felt women were not adequately represented at the national dialogue conference. “We were hoping there would be a greater participation [of women],” Zeineddin said. “I have a lot of big questions generally, regarding how the conference was organized and participants were chosen.” 

Zeineddin estimated that 10 women were among her session’s 56 participants. Six out of the 30 participants in Khoulani’s discussion group were women, while only three out of the 45 participants in Chourbaji’s session were women. Ahmad’s group had nine women out of 40 attendees.

The role of women was glaringly absent from the recommendations identified by the preparatory discussions held in the runup to this week’s conference, Ahmad added. As a result, her committee added recommendations on the “protection of women’s role, their participation in public affairs, the abolition of discriminatory laws related to granting citizenship and others.” In Syria, like other Arab countries, women cannot pass citizenship to their children.

Hanin Ahmad, a civil activist from Homs, stands inside the Presidential Palace in Damascus during the Syrian National Dialogue Conference, 25/2/2025 (Afaf Jakmour/Syria Direct)

In Chourbaji’s session, however, no recommendations related to women and the economy were added. This is despite the fact that a large number of Syrian women are the primary breadwinners for their families, as many men have been detained or killed during the revolution and war, she said. In 2017, nearly a quarter of Syrian households were headed by women, compared to just 4.4 percent in 2009. 

Chourbaji is “optimistic” about the overall outcomes of the national dialogue conference, but hopes to see a “plan or committee that supports small businesses for women.” She was previously the head of a civil society organization, but now works in the private sector to support charitable initiatives, especially those related to economic empowerment. 

Khoulani emphasized that women should be decision-makers, not just beneficiaries, as the government formulates a strategy to address transitional justice issues. “Most of the families of detainees are women. Women must be decision-makers and participants in the strategy for justice,” she said.

“Women are capable of leading in all aspects of public affairs and [public] life,” Zeineddin echoed.

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