The takeover of Syria by the Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) organization, headed by Ahmed Al-Sharaa (until recently known as Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani), has sparked many concerns regarding the status and role of women under the new regime. These fears stem from HTS’ rigid and even abusive treatment of women in the past, when it was affiliated with the Al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorist organizations and later when it controlled the Idlib district in northwest Syria after severing its relations with those organizations. With the organization’s takeover of Syria and the establishment of its transitional government, senior officials in the new administration began sending reassuring messages regarding the status of women, stating that the new regime would grant women all their rights and not exclude them from any domain. It is not clear, however, that these declarations reflect a genuine change in the organization’s views on the issue of women. They are more likely meant to appease the international community and the West in order to gain legitimacy for the new regime and achieve the lifting of sanctions and the delivery of aid that is urgently needed for Syria’s reconstruction.
Under HTS Rule In Syria, Women Fear For Their Rights | MEMRI
