The Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic grants equal rights to all its citizens. Nonetheless, individual laws contain discriminatory provisions. Syrian women have seen their economic opportunities improve in recent years (close to 30 per cent of the female population is economically active), but they still face various degrees of inequality in the social sphere.
Traditional values and patriarchal societal norms prevail, particularly in rural areas. About 90 per cent of the population are Muslims. According to Bellafronto, some extremist Islamic groups are said to influence government decisions, thereby using legislation to maintain a subordinate status for women.
The Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic grants equal rights to all its citizens. Nonetheless, individual laws contain discriminatory provisions. Syrian women have seen their economic opportunities improve in recent years (close to 30 per cent of the female population is economically active), but they still face various degrees of inequality in the social sphere.
Traditional values and patriarchal societal norms prevail, particularly in rural areas. About 90 per cent of the population are Muslims. According to Bellafronto, some extremist Islamic groups are said to influence government decisions, thereby using legislation to maintain a subordinate status for women.
Syrian women have a low level of legal protection in regard to family matters, which are governed by the Personal Status Code. This code considers women to be legal dependents of their fathers or husbands, and contains many provisions that discriminate against women.
The legal age of marriage in Syria is 17 years for women and 18 years for men, but judges may authorise marriages at even younger ages: as low as 13 years for women and 15 years for men. Early marriage is still quite frequent, although the female age of marriage has increased in recent years. A 2004 United Nations report estimated that 25 per cent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age were married, divorced or widowed. Women have no role in the marriage contract: it is signed by the groom and the male guardian of the bride.
Polygamy is allowed under Islamic Sharia law, which allows Muslim men to take as many as four wives. Syrian law gives judges the right to prohibit men from taking second (or subsequent) wives if they deem the man to be incapable of providing adequate financial support. Judges exercise this right frequently, and the practice of polygamy is believed to be relatively rare.
Syrian law also discriminates in the area of parental authority, granting fathers more rights than mothers. Mothers can act as the legal guardians of children only if the father is dead, legally incapacitated, stateless or unknown. In the event of divorce, mothers are usually granted custody of sons until they are 13 years and daughters until they are 15 years. Women cannot confer citizenship to children born to non-Syrian fathers.
Islamic law provides for detailed and complex calculations of inheritance shares. A woman may inherit from her father, mother, husband or children, and under certain conditions, from other family members. However, her share is generally smaller than a man’s entitlement. A daughter, for example, inherits half as much as a son. This is commonly justified by the argument that women have no financial responsibility towards their husbands and children. In rural areas in particular, many women are not aware of their inheritance rights and are easily persuaded to transfer their entitled share to a male relative.
Women in Syria have only a low level of protection for their physical integrity. The Penal Code criminalises violence against women, but other laws create loopholes that allow perpetrators to have their penalties reduced or abolished. For example, charges are dropped if a man agrees to marry the woman he has abused. So-called honour crimes, whereby a woman is punished or even killed by male family members for having put “shame” on the family honour, also occur. Until 2004, the media was banned from reporting such crimes.
Domestic violence has long been a subject of social taboo, but public awareness of the problem appears to have increased in recent years. Still, women have very limited legal recourse against violence inflicted upon them in their own homes, and many incidents remain unreported. The law does not recognise the concept of spousal rape. Female genital mutilation is not practised in Syria. The population sex ratio in Syria is tilted in favour of men, suggesting that it may be a country of concern in relation to missing women.
Syrian women have strong legal support in terms of their financial independence. There are no legal restrictions on women’s access to land or access to property other than land. Women who receive property through inheritance, however, may be restricted from using it independently as unmarried women are discouraged from living alone.
The law does not make any distinction between men and women’s access to bank loans and credit. As such, women are not required to have the consent of their fathers or husbands in order to apply for or obtain loans.
Syrian law provides only a limited degree of civil liberty for women. Their freedom of movement is constrained to their local areas, and it is generally not socially accepted for women to travel or to live alone. In the case of married couples, the choice of residence generally lies with the husband and the woman is obliged to accept this choice. Married women no longer need permission from their husbands to apply for passports, although there are indications that husbands can still stop their wives from leaving the country. Unmarried women over the age of 18 years do not need the permission of their male guardians prior to travelling. Women are restricted from working in occupations that the government considers dangerous or immoral.
There are no legal restrictions on women’s freedom of dress and, in the 1980s, women were discouraged (sometimes forcefully) from wearing the veil. Recent years have seen an increase in the number of women who wear veils in public, although the face veil (niquab) is relatively uncommon.
The Associated Press (2006), “A Look at the Wearing of Veils, and Disputes on the Issue, Across the Muslim World”, International Herald Tribune, Paris.
Bellafronto, C. (2005), Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Citizenship and Justice – Syria Country Report, Freedom House Inc., Washington, DC.
Bilad ash-Sham: Uncommon Levantine News and Comment (2007), Expert Confirms That Spread of Veil Among Syrian Women is Due to to Amr Khaled, CEDAW (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) (2007), Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women: Syria, Initial Report of States Parties, CEDAW/C/SYR/1, CEDAW New York, NY.
Klasen, K. and C. Wink (2003), “Missing Women: Revisiting the Debate”, Feminist Economics, Vol. 9, No. 2-3, Routledge, London.
UN (United Nations) (2004), World Fertility Report 2003, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population DivisionNew York, NY.
Zoepf, C. (2006), Syria’s First Study of Violence Against Women Breaks Taboo, New York Times, New York, NY.
