Minister: Women will play a major role in the new Syria Syrian war news

The new head of women’s affairs, Aisha Al-Debs, told Al Jazeera that Al Jazeera women from all governorates and ethnicities will help rebuild the war-torn country.

The newly appointed head of the Women’s Affairs Office in the Syrian Interim Government said that the administration will enable women to contribute to rebuilding the country, which has been torn apart by more than a decade of conflict.

In an interview with Al Jazeera from Damascus on Sunday, Aisha Al-Debs said that the government is committed to involving Syrian women in social, cultural and political institutions, and employing qualified women in the health care and education sectors.

“It is known to all of us that Syrian women have historically been very effective women, capable of leadership in all fields. Al-Debs said: “Today we are in the process of returning it to this pioneering role in building Syria, the new country, the free country to which we all aspire.”

She pledged to encourage women from all Syrian governorates and ethnicities to participate in the upcoming national conference, which will discuss the future of the country.

Al-Debs said that the establishment of the Women’s Affairs Office, headed by her, came in response to questions about the role of Syrian women in the new government.

Syria’s new rulers came to power earlier this month after opposition forces led by… Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)The Syrian Democratic Forces launched a lightning attack from northwestern Idlib province in November, seizing city after city from government forces with little resistance.

Opposition forces I arrived in Damascus In the early hours of December 8, he announced the end of more than 50 years of the iron-fisted rule of Bashar al-Assad’s family in Syria.

Western countries are grappling with their approach to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, a former affiliate of al-Qaeda. Several Western governments have classified Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham as a “terrorist” group, although the group has moderated its rhetoric in recent months.

United Nations Security Council In a statement They urged earlier this week the implementation of an “inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process” that they said must meet the legitimate aspirations of all Syrians, protect them all and “empower them to determine their own destiny peacefully, independently and democratically.” Own future.

Supporting women prisoners

After Assad was overthrown, opposition fighters freed thousands of Syrians from the prison network run by the previous regime. There are still tens of thousands of people believed to have been detained by the Assad government Missing.

Al-Debs said that her office will prepare a report on female detainees released from prisons and work to develop a comprehensive plan for their well-being. She added that she would seek to prosecute prison officials accused of committing human rights violations inside prisons.

She said that “spontaneous and unorganized efforts” by people who joined opposition forces to open prisons led to the tampering of prison records. As a result, the whereabouts of many female prisoners were lost.

Al-Debs said, “I will launch a phone number dedicated to female prisoners, whether long-term or recently detained, to count them and work with them.”

“Formerly detained women need psychological support for their rehabilitation. They need education, healthcare and legal protection as they prepare to file cases against their jailers.

Debs, whose appointment was announced on Friday, is the first woman to hold a ministry in the new Syrian administration. She is known for her human rights activism and humanitarian work. She previously worked with a charity in the northwestern province of Idlib and in Syrian refugee camps in neighboring Türkiye.