In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Syrian feminist struggle was led by a number of notable women. A Syrian journalist named Mary Ajami established the first journal in the Arab east calling for the liberation of women. Though her publications were popular both among the women and the elite, they still received substantial criticism from conservatives. Ajami continued her activism and petitioned the Syrian National congress to allow women to vote in 1920. She also established the first intellectual salon for women. Another prominent activist was Naziq el-Abed, also known as the Arab Joan of Arc for fighting with the Syrian Army in the battle of Maysaloun. In 1919, she founded the Nour al-Fayha organization for women and an associated publication with the same name. In 1922, she founded the Syrian Crescent to care for people wounded in the war. Her work also extended to Lebanon where she founded in 1935 the Association for Working Women, which lobbied for improved working conditions for women.

After the country’s independence in 1946, the main challenge the women had to face was Islamic fundamentalism. By that time, women were already entering the labor force and beginning to unveil. Women obtained the right to vote in 1949, and the right to stand for elections in 1953. The ideology of Arab nationalism encouraged feminist ambitions and drove women to participate in public demonstrations. The Communist Party also served as a channel for feminism as it encouraged its members to break free of religious and social constraints.

When Hafez el-Assad came to power, he tried to end women’s seclusion by encouraging their education and participation in the workforce. Consequently, literacy rates improved considerably among women, reaching 92% in 2007 according to the World Bank. Women’s participation in the labor force also showed growth, mostly in the education sector, but in general they still lag behind their male counterparts. Despite these developments, the Baath Party failed to introduce policies that would have allowed for the proper involvement of women in civil society.

Before the civil war erupted in Syria, only a small number of women activists were working in the country. Under Baath rule, all non-governmental organizations are required to register with the government, and report their every meeting, limiting as such the ability of civil society to lobby for legislation. This meant that only those NGOs, which functioned in accordance with the government, were allowed to work openly. There is only one legal organization for women, the General Union of Syrian Women, which is an affiliate of the Baath Party. Because civil society has not been effective in lobbying for women’s rights, many restrictions on women remain intact. For example, there is no legislation prohibiting either gender discrimination or domestic violence. Polygamy is still legal and Muslim women are not allowed to marry without the consent of a male guardian. As in Lebanon, women are not allowed to pass on their nationality to their children.

This has fostered a culture that remains highly patriarchal despite women’s involvement in education and labor force. Recently, the issue of women’s rights in Syria has attracted much attention with the horrific news of the use of sexual violence against women as a weapon of war. When the civil war is over, women are likely to be up against either the Baath government again, or a new wave of Islamic fundamentalism. As the Egyptian example has shown, the question of women’s rights will become a critical issue for legislation. Whoever will be in power after the civil war, will immediately need to address the question of human rights- and therefore women’s rights- in Syria.