Derya Ren 

 

RIHA - Commenting on the draft constitution prepared by the interim government in Damascus, Justice Omer, the head of the North and East Syria Women's Committee, stated that a monist draft constitution was prepared and said, "There is nothing about women."

 

With the fall of the Baath regime, the Middle East, especially Syria, entered a new process as of 8 December. In Syria, an agreement was signed last month between the HTS, which took over the administration in Damascus, and the SDF. While clashes continue in some parts of the country, discussions continue on the 53-article draft constitution, which was signed on 12 March and entered into force. According to Article 3 of the Constitution, the religion of the President of the country should be Islam, while Article 4 emphasises that the official language should be Arabic. On the other hand, while the protection of the family is underlined in Article 20, it is noteworthy that the articles on women's rights are not transparent.

 

Justice Omer, Head of the Women's Committee of Northern and Eastern Syria, made evaluations to JINNEWS on the draft constitution prepared by the interim government in Damascus.

 

Referring to the mobilisations that developed as a result of the uprisings that started in Syria in 2011, Adalet Omer said: "The people living in Syria did not have any rights. With the fall of the regime, the people took to the streets and expressed their happiness. However, the new government, like the old system, approaches with a monist approach and resorts to all kinds of means to maintain its own existence. The new draft law prepared by the interim government of Damascus is not accepted by all Syrian people and for this reason, the people took to the streets. As a result of the researches conducted at the moment, it has been revealed that there are 17 nations in Syria. If 16 nations are to be denied and a constitution is to be drafted for a single nation, this is not an acceptable situation."

 

'There is nothing about women in the draft law'

 

Noting that the system, not the individuals, should change, Justice Omer said, "It is important to democratise the system. The Middle East needs a democratic system. The lesson learnt from what happened is this: The centralised system in the Middle East does not benefit any people. The draft constitution is dominated by an incomprehensible language that excludes other peoples other than Arabs. However, there is not only one nation living in Syria. On the other hand, when we look at the articles in the law, we see that everything is concentrated in the hands of a single person. There is nothing about women."

 

'We raise our voices'

 

Drawing attention to the agreement signed between the QSD and the interim Damascus government, Adalet Omer said: "As women living in Northern and Eastern Syria, we are raising our voices against this new draft constitution issued by the Damascus interim government. In fact, when we look at the coastal cities, we see that a great massacre is taking place. The Damascus interim government convened a national congress, but it did not represent the Syrian people. In the congress, they brought together one mentality, one nation and those who think like them. We will not accept this; a constitution that ignores us is not valid for us."

 

Women's constitutional work

 

Adalet Omer added that the women's constitutional work in North and East Syria has been going on for about 2 years and said, "We have reached the end of our work. As women, we believe that such a Constitution is necessary for the construction of a democratic and free life. The women who fought on the front lines and organised themselves in the Rojava Women's Revolution must make their rights permanent and take part in decision-making bodies. In North and East Syria, women have a say in all areas of life. However, in the interim government in Damascus, women's place is wanted to be eliminated. Why shouldn't women take part in the administration at a rate of 50 per cent?"

 

'There is public distrust'

 

Justice Omer noted that the interim government in Damascus is trying to confine women to certain roles and said, "With a reactionary mentality, they want to confine women at home and squeeze them into social roles. As women, we can oppose these roles imposed on us by forming our own organisation. We need to do this not only in Northern and Eastern Syria, but throughout Syria. It is rumoured that many women are currently being kidnapped. What will the interim Damascus government do about the situation of these women? This needs to be clarified. There is public distrust towards this government."