2026 News Photos Videos

Launch of a National and International Campaign to Ensure the Inclusion of Women’s Rights in the Constitution of the New Syria

2 weeks has passed

124 5 minutes reading

The Joint Platform of Women’s Organizations in Rojava and North and East Syria has announced the launch of a national and international campaign ahead of March 8, calling for the incorporation of the achievements of the Women’s Revolution into the new constitution. The platform further demands the adoption of the co-chair system and a 50% gender quota, as well as ensuring accountability for perpetrators of violations and safeguarding the rights of all components of society.

Launch of a National and International Campaign to Guarantee Women’s Rights in the New Syria

The Joint Platform of Women’s Movements and Organizations in Rojava and North and East Syria announced the launch of a national and international campaign calling for guarantees of women’s rights in the new Syria and affirming their effective participation in drafting the anticipated constitution.

The announcement was made during a statement issued today, Wednesday, at the March 12 Stadium in the city of Qamishlo, in the presence of dozens of activists and members of women’s organizations, alongside intellectuals, politicians, and human rights advocates.

Twenty-nine women’s movements, organizations, unions, and political parties signed the statement, coinciding with the approaching International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8 each year. The statement was read in three languages: the Kurdish version was delivered by Reyhan Loqo, spokesperson of Kongra Star; the Arabic version was read by Mona Youssef, an administrator in the Syrian Women’s Council; and the Syriac version was read by Samira Kourieh Hanna, member of the Syriac Women’s Union Party.

The following is the text of the statement:

“There Is No Alternative to Constitutionalization to Protect the Women’s Revolution and Guarantee a Democratic Syria”

First and foremost, before anything else, we bow in reverence before the greatness of the sacrifices inscribed in the blood of the pioneers and martyrs; those who made their bodies a bridge and their will a path for us, enabling us to cross from the darkness of exclusion into the light of leadership. We, the women’s organizations in Rojava/North and East Syria, affirm that every gain we protect today is a pledge of loyalty to their legacy, which we will not allow to be squandered or compromised.

Our hearts are gripped with pain, and the fires of anger burn within us as we witness atrocities committed by elements affiliated with factions linked to the interim transitional government; barbaric practices that have surpassed all human values, from throwing our comrade “Deniz” from the third floor in a barbaric scene, to the crime of cutting a female fighter’s braid in cold blood.

These violations are a blatant expression of a reactionary patriarchal mentality saturated with hatred, fundamentally aimed at breaking the will of the woman who defeated terrorism, and a desperate attempt to intimidate society by targeting its symbols of struggle and beauty.

What the Women’s Revolution achieved in North and East Syria, and throughout Syria in general, was not a grant, but a seizure of rights from the jaws of exclusionary ideology.

Accordingly, as we approach International Women’s Struggle Day (March 8) in a spirit of resistance rather than defeat, we announce from the heart of the field the launch of a major national and international campaign to raise the pace of struggle and escalate activism in all arenas. We do not beg for our rights; rather, we place the international community and democratic forces before their historical responsibilities, and we present our demands as entitlements that are non-negotiable and not subject to postponement. The demands are as follows:

The explicit and unequivocal inclusion in the new constitution of the gains of the Women’s Revolution achieved in North and East Syria and in Syria in general, in order to guarantee their protection from the patriarchal, exclusionary, and reactionary mentality that has historically sought to marginalize women from decision-making positions.

The full implementation of what was agreed upon on January 30, in a manner that ensures the completion of integration processes and guarantees women’s effective and independent participation in all military, political, and administrative institutions.

Constitutional recognition of the “co-chair system” and the adoption of a women’s quota of no less than 50% in all state institutions and constitutional drafting committees as a guarantee of full equality.

The inclusion of a clear constitutional clause adopting Decree No. 13 concerning the protection of the linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurds, while ensuring the protection of the rights of all Syrian components and sects and their cultural diversity.

The formation of genuine participatory committees that include broad women’s representation to redraft a new democratic constitution that protects the rights of women and components and establishes a decentralized democratic system.

Preserving the distinct structure and identity of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and recognizing them constitutionally as an essential and integral part of the defense and protection system, in appreciation of their historic role in defeating terrorism and protecting human values.

Full commitment to the Women’s Law and the achieved legal and civil gains, and categorical rejection of any legislation that entrenches dependency or seeks to diminish women’s social and political role.

Revealing the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared, ensuring the immediate accountability of perpetrators of crimes and brutal violations against women, and applying the principles of transitional justice to guarantee redress for victims and prevent impunity.

Guaranteeing the safe and voluntary return of all displaced persons and those forcibly expelled to their homes by providing international guarantees that protect them from retaliatory practices and secure for them the means of dignified living.

Calling upon the international community to recognize the Autonomous Administration model and the pioneering women’s experience within it as a national model for the comprehensive Syrian solution, ensuring the transition toward a democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria.

We address this struggle-based appeal to all feminist movements and democratic forces around the world: our battle today is the last line of defense for universal values of freedom in the face of reactionary extremism and patriarchal mentality. Targeting Syrian women is a stab at the heart of global democracy; therefore, we call upon you to strengthen feminist alliances and escalate international pressure to ensure that Syria’s future constitution is not written with pens dipped in the ink of exclusion and the marginalization of half of society.

The years have taught us that our organization is our fortress, and escalating our struggle is our destiny; neither killing intimidates us nor do violations break our will. Those who made the revolution and safeguarded dignity with their blood are alone capable of protecting it and imposing the logic of “a democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria.” In loyalty to the martyrs and the severed braids, we will remain the unconquerable force in the face of tyranny, and we will not stop until we see our gains engraved in the core of the constitution, safeguarded by the will of organization and the power of justice.

The Signatory Parties to the Statement Are:

1- Kongra Star

2- The Syriac Women’s Union in Syria

3- The Women’s Security Union

4- Sara Organization to Combat Violence Against Women

5- Hilal Zerin

6- The Yazidi Women’s Union in Rojava

7- The Kurdistan Democratic Peace Party

8- The Democratic Green Party

9- The Jazira Lawyers’ Union

10- The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Party

11- The Syrian Construction and Development Party