Aisha al-Khatib, a 32-year-old law student and coordinator of the “Power of Decision Through Women’s Voices” initiative, started her day doing household chores and caring for her children before meeting with the Norwegian ambassador during a visit to Aleppo. By afternoon, she was standing in the heart of the city holding a sign that read: “Representation Is Not Just Numbers.”
Al-Khatib was among dozens of women who gathered for a licensed demonstration calling for greater female involvement in political decision-making — the same day authorities in Damascus announced the formation of Syria’s first People’s Assembly since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. The timing was not lost on her.
The new parliament has 210 seats, though only 207 lawmakers have been named. Elections for the remaining three seats in the southern province of As-Suwayda could not take place due to sectarian violence in the region.
Under Syria’s Constitutional Declaration governing the transitional period, 137 members were chosen through indirect elections conducted by bodies established by the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections. President Ahmed al-Sharaa then appointed an additional 70 members — referred to as the “presidential third” — to include professionals, specialists, and social groups that might otherwise have been left out of the process.
Among those 70 appointments were 15 women, which significantly increased female representation in the chamber. Depending on how different news outlets count the numbers, the new parliament now includes either 21 or 22 women, accounting for roughly 10% of the total membership.
While that figure represents a boost in women’s presence, it still falls well short of the global average and has sparked renewed debate about whether presidential appointments can truly make up for women’s limited success in the electoral process — or whether they simply delay addressing the deeper structural barriers that keep women from winning seats outright.
The Aleppo protest was organized within hours of the final parliamentary roster being released. Demonstrators argued that the assembly still fails to reflect the breadth of female expertise and leadership that developed throughout Syria’s years of conflict and upheaval.
“I joined because I believe change comes through action, not words,” al-Khatib told The Media Line. “I felt it was my duty as a Syrian woman to help create space for women’s voices, especially after years in which women carried enormous responsibilities during the revolution — within their families, at work, and in their communities — yet remained largely absent from positions where decisions are made.”
She argued that rebuilding Syria requires “justice and democracy based on merit rather than gender,” and that women should be genuine partners in shaping the country’s future rather than serving as symbolic figures.
For al-Khatib, speaking out publicly carried its own meaning. “For many years, expressing an opinion publicly was associated with fear and danger,” she said. “Standing peacefully in a public square today and demanding our rights was an extraordinary feeling.”
Asmaa al-Mahmoud, 28, a human rights advocate and governance consultant who also studied law, shares al-Khatib’s view that the problem goes deeper than seat counts. “We support merit and technocratic governance at every stage,” al-Mahmoud told The Media Line. “But during this transitional period, I believe a temporary gender quota is necessary.”
She pointed to Aleppo, Syria’s largest province in terms of parliamentary representation, which was allocated 46 seats in the new assembly — yet only two women from the province ended up securing seats. “That simply does not reflect the number of qualified women in Aleppo,” she said. “Women are not decoration. The current percentage is too low to create meaningful influence inside parliament, and the representation does not reflect all segments of Syrian society.”
Yafa Nawaf, a Syrian political activist focused on women’s political participation, said the numbers highlight the structural obstacles women continue to face. “Syrian women were active participants in the struggle for freedom and justice,” Nawaf told The Media Line. “They stood at the forefront of demonstrations against repression, endured imprisonment, displacement, and the loss of family members. That contribution should now be reflected more clearly in the country’s decision-making institutions.”
Government officials maintain that the presidential appointments were intended to address those gaps. Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad, head of the Higher Committee for People’s Assembly Elections, told The Media Line the appointments were made under authority granted by the Constitutional Declaration. He said the president appointed 55 men and 15 women representing a wide range of professional and social backgrounds, including academics, legal experts, community leaders, former political detainees, people injured during the Syrian revolution, and individuals with disabilities. “The objective,” al-Ahmad said, “was to achieve more balanced representation within the assembly.”
Al-Ahmad also confirmed that parliament is ready to hold its first session, during which members will elect a speaker and formal leadership, officially launching Syria’s first legislative body of the transitional era.
Among the more notable female appointees is Rozina Lazkani, 36, a Syrian actress from Hama province. A graduate of Damascus’ Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts with a focus on scenography, she began her television career in 2013 and has appeared in some of Syria’s most well-known TV dramas. Speaking to Syrian media after her appointment, Lazkani described the role as “both a vote of confidence and a great responsibility,” saying she hopes to represent citizens’ concerns and help rebuild Syria during its transitional period.
Other appointees include Samira Ayman al-Wattar, a member of the Higher Committee’s legal committee; Aisha al-Dibs, who led the Women’s Affairs Office in Syria’s post-Assad transitional administration; and Houda al-Atassi, an architect and advocate for women’s and children’s rights who previously served on the preparatory committee for Syria’s National Dialogue Conference.
The list also includes Israa al-Mashhour, an agricultural researcher from Deir ez-Zor who specializes in soil science and plant nutrition. She previously headed a department at the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research and has published work in scientific journals. In a statement following her appointment, al-Mashhour described the role as “a responsibility before it is an honor,” saying Syria’s next phase requires turning the people’s sacrifices into legislation that “strengthens justice, protects rights, and reinforces the rule of law.”
Additional appointees include Lara Qadid, a researcher in higher education policy; Madonna Bishara, a civil society activist focused on human rights and women’s issues; and Hanan Ibrahim al-Balkhi, an academic with a master’s degree from the University of Oslo who previously served in both the Syrian National Council and the Syrian Opposition Coalition. Community figures Najwa Qassas, known for supporting women’s economic empowerment, and Asmaa Farhan al-Sibai, a former political detainee and social activist, are also among the appointees.
Critics argue that the true measure of success will not be the diversity of backgrounds but whether these women can actually shape legislation and hold the executive branch accountable.
Mahmoud Hammam, a lawyer, legal researcher, and former parliamentary candidate, said presidential appointments alone will not resolve the deeper barriers to women’s political participation. “The international benchmark of at least 30% female representation is widely regarded as the minimum threshold at which women can form a parliamentary bloc capable of influencing legislation and public policy,” Hammam told The Media Line. “That is precisely the figure demanded by the women who protested in Aleppo.”
He said meaningful progress requires more than allocating seats — it requires building a political environment where qualified women with legal, political, and administrative experience can compete on equal footing.
At roughly 10%, Syria’s female parliamentary representation falls short of regional peers. Iraq’s constitution guarantees women at least 25% of parliamentary seats. Jordan has expanded its quota system in recent years, with women holding about one-fifth of seats in its House of Representatives. Lebanon, which has no parliamentary quota, still has fewer than 10% women — making Syria’s current level broadly comparable despite the countries’ very different political circumstances. According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, women now hold more than 27% of parliamentary seats worldwide on average.
Women’s underrepresentation in Syrian politics is not new. Parliamentary records and Inter-Parliamentary Union data show no women served in Syria’s parliament after the 1947 or 1953 elections. Representation gradually climbed over the following decades, reaching 2.7% in 1973, 3.6% in 1977, 6.7% in 1981, and 8.4% in 1990. Under Assad’s rule, women generally held between 10% and 13% of seats, peaking at 13.2% in 2016 before dropping to roughly 9.6% in the parliament elected in 2024.
The stakes are particularly high because this new People’s Assembly is Syria’s first legislature since Assad’s fall. During the transitional period, it will be responsible for debating and passing laws, approving the state budget, ratifying international agreements, and exercising legislative authority until a permanent constitution is adopted and national elections are held.
Aqeel Hussein, an elected parliament member representing Aleppo, told The Media Line that success should not be measured by seat counts alone. “The real test,” he said, “will be their presence in key parliamentary committees and their ability to influence legislation and exercise meaningful oversight of the executive branch.”
For al-Khatib, the debate ultimately reaches beyond the makeup of this particular parliament. “We want women’s participation to become the natural result of merit and equal opportunity,” she said, “not an exception achieved only through appointments.”
As Syria’s new parliament prepares to meet for the first time, the debate over women’s representation is shifting beyond statistics and appointments. The months ahead will reveal whether the increase in female lawmakers signals a genuine change in women’s role in shaping Syria’s future.
