In the Core Or on the Margin
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In the Core or on the Margin: Syrian Women’s Political Participation In the Core or on the Margin: Syrian Women’s Political Participation (December 2016) Lama Kannout Number of pages: 200 Art director and cover design: Manaf Azzam Translator: Yaaser Azzayyaat First edition: 2017 Publisher: This study has been published by the Euromed Feminist Initiative EFI-IFE, within the project “Towards a Democratic Transition in Syria Through an Inclusive Constitution Building Process,” funded by Kingdom of Sweden. The creator of this research study is the only person liable for any of its contents. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior specified permission from the Syrian Feminist Lobby. Lama Kannout is a Syrian politician and feminist. She holds a B.A. in Interior Design. She has co-founded several civil society organizations, and has conducted several research papers about gender, citizenship, democratic transition in Syria, UNSC resolution 1325, and the principles or a gender-sensitive constitution, as well as women’s political participation. [email protected] The Syrian Feminist Lobby is an independent non-partisan lobby that is committed to equal participation of women and men in all political decision- making processes in Syria at all levels. syrianfeministlobby.com Lama Kannout In the Core or on the Margin: Syrian Women’s Political Participation The backstage of the Syrian political elites who propose themselves as a democratic alternative, and the reasons that have led to the weakening of women’s political participation Table of Contents Introduction ......................................................................................7 The Significance of the Topic .................................................................. 7 Research Problematic .......................................................................... 15 Research Methodology ........................................................................ 16 Background .......................................................................................... 17 Part One: Women’s Political Participation During the Revolution .................... 37 1. Women’s Role in Decision-Making: The Case of Coordination-Committees ............................................ 40 2. Women in the Core Body of Establishment and Participation: The Case of Local Coordination Committees ................................... 45 3. Women Near-Absent From Local Councils ....................................... 50 4. Current Political Forces .................................................................... 58 5. Women in Post-Revolutionary Political Forces ................................. 62 6. Syrian Women Advisory Board (WAB).............................................. 65 7. Backstage of Political Elites .............................................................. 74 8. The Case of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) ................................ 89 9. Women in the Muslim Brotherhood ................................................ 94 10. Civil Society Organizations with Political Guise .............................. 99 Part Two: Four Main Issues in the Backstage of Political Forces ..................... 113 1. Democracy ......................................................................................113 2. Stereotypes .....................................................................................126 3. Quota ..............................................................................................138 4. Violence ..........................................................................................143 - Challenges and Facets of Deficiency .................................................160 - Summing Up Main Masculine and Discriminatory Practices ............163 - Summing Up Why Women’s Political Participation Has Been Undermined ......................................................................................165 Part Three: Conclusion and Recommendations ................................................ 173 Conclusion ...........................................................................................173 Recommendations ..............................................................................175 Annexes ........................................................................................ 179 Annex #1: List of Names of Participants ..............................................181 Annex #2: Research Questions ............................................................185 Annex #3: Letter by Female Members of the National Coalition to Increase Women’s Representation ....................................189 Annex #4: Founding Document of the Women’s Advisory Board .......191 Annex #5: Evaluative Letter from the WAC to the HNC.......................195 Introduction 7 Introduction The Significance of the Topic The lives of women are governed by discriminatory economic, legal, social, political and religious structures. All faces of oppression have amalgamated to put a collar around their necks and to impede the path of their struggle for their rights. Syrian women once broke these shackles when they took the lead in the March 2011 revolution, which restored politicization to society after decades of dictatorship. Yet, this did not improve their political participation within local governance and in the political forces that have taken the lead. This lack of participation does not only stem from the exclusion of women in a time of political transition, leading to the inevitable demise of a democratic transition in a new Syria, but also from shortcomings of some opposition forces that have since taken command, be that exclusion in the approach, the discourse or practice, which have all hindered the political participation of women. Female Syrian revolutionaries face substantial challenges. First, inter- national discourse aims at dismissing their political role in the riddance of a despotic regime, and to re-drawing for them entirely similar roles to those drawn by the patriarchal structure within the dichotomy of war and peace: Tough male fighters inflaming the wars and female victims as mere peace actors, pressing the males to solve the conflict. This contrast signifies an utter disregard for the freedom of individuals in choosing their positions and perspectives. It’s an attempt to strip women of their ultimate cause towards desired radical democratic transformation and the establishment 8 In the Core or on the Margin: Syrian Women’s Political Participation of sustainable and just peace, peace that is founded upon holding the war criminals accountable, as well as separating women from a revolution and social movement that sought freedom, justice, equality and a state built around citizenship. The second challenge faced by Syrian revolutionary women is a dis- criminatory political blockade imposed by the forces that have taken the lead in the political scene, who do not view women as qualified political leaders with enough capacities to make change and decisive choices. In the name of preserving the balances within the political bloc, doors are shut before women; and in the name of quotas women are excluded. In order to retain influence cards, an utter silence looms over violations perpetrated by Salafi armed factions; and for the sake of women’s slogans of democracy and citizenship, they settle for symbolic participation; and under the pretext of priorities their rights disappear. These forces which effectively blockade women’s participation completely disregard that, if qualified women were to be alienated or excluded, it is impossible for parties to be democratic. It is not possible to be a democratic alternative and to claim the representation of a population while ignoring half of it. Among the acts of terrorism committed by the regime and those fundamentalist al-Qaeda-affiliated groups, in addition to the extremism and violations committed by other Salafi military factions, which have considered the goals and slogans of the revolution to be heresy and have fought, kidnapped and expelled activists, both male and female, we have been deprived of the emergence of women’s local leadership and the development of their work and political representation. Thus, their contributions have receded, remaining in a closed environment, under extremely severe conditions. This research explores women’s participation, starting with the coordination-committees and local councils, following along different paths within the political negotiations in Geneva 3 while focusing on women’s political participation within the political forces that have proposed themselves as a democratic alternative. The context of this research and its recommendations stem from our pursuit to establish democratic parties; to critique in order to correct the path and overcome the obstacles standing in the way of women’s participation; to Introduction 9 highlight the depth of the masculine mindset. The desired democratic state cannot be established upon the isolation and exclusion of women, but only through their full and diligent political participation, including participation in negotiating political resolutions and transitional period, a participation that would provide them with equal opportunities and access to decision- making; and to found a constitution that is sensitive to gender, precluding the elimination of all forms of discrimination and persecution justified by the laws governing their lives, and the denial