Doured Jabbour is from Latakia city. He studied medicine and graduated from Cuba. He worked for 27 years as a gynecologist in Syria. He moved to Sweden in 2015 and he is a member of SWPM.

One of the people who declared their position in Latakia early in 2011, Doured hosted in his house in 22 March, 2011 a group of those interested in the public affairs. After collecting over 100 signatures, they issued a statement calling for not using weapons and violence against demonstrators. He also co-founded Maan [Together] movement, a secular democratic movement that received no support in Doured’s opinion, who said that the movement depended on the members of the movement by collecting charities to help people. However, as time passed by, peaceful and civil work retarded, and weapon and more extremist groups have had the louder voice, therefore the group contracted. Doured continued his work with the movement but with less efficiency, then he moved to work in providing relief and medical aid to IDPs in addition to participating in conferences and symposiums held abroad on the Syrian issue. Those were attempts to push forwards towards a national, democratic and secular movement, as Doured says.

Doured was close to the Communist Labor League which was one of the political parties active in Syria, before he left for Cuba to study medicine. He went back to Syria with the same clear and free opinion he had. He participated in cultural symposiums to discuss political issues which exposed him to continuous abuse and pressure by the security agencies. At the start of the so-called civil action in Syria with the advent of Bashar al-Assad to power, Doured was among those who formed the national labor committee in Latakia, which was a civil political plan for democratic change in Syria. The committee, however, did not last for more than 2 years as they were forced to dismantle it.

Doured participated in the revolution because he was aware of the importance of change and believed in the revolution principles and goals in fighting oppression, corruption, authoritarianism and living under laws respecting human rights and dignity. Although he had good economic and social conditions in Syria, but the daily pressure and threats he came under by Shabiha thugs and security agencies in Latakia made him leave Syria in 2015 for Sweden.

“I joined SWPM because I believed in its goals and principles, and because it could represent a party that is missing from the political arena in Syria, especially on the opposition side.”

His interest in politics started at the age of 16 through participation in conferences and dialogues and reading of political and philosophical books and novels.

Doured says that all foreign parties that interfered in the Syria militarily and politically to protect their own interests foiled the political work, in addition to the mistakes of the regime and the opposition. This requires now an international agreement for a transitional period that may result in the change that the revolution called for since the beginning.

Doured joined the Syrian Woman Political Movement because he believed in its goals and principles, and because it could represent a party that is missing from the political arena in Syria, especially on the opposition side, as Doured says. Out of his belief that men and women should be legally equal, especially that women are more than men in Syria, Doured says that it will be difficult to build a country without acknowledging this equality as a first step. Our demand for equality cannot be true if we reject equality between men and women before anything else.

“SWPM is not a demand for women only, it is a necessity for the Syrian community. Everyone should contribute to push it forward to occupy the space it deserves,” Doured adds. For Doured, it is important for SWPM to establish relations with the largest number possible of women and men inside and outside Syria to create weight that can impose goals, opinions and the desire to achieve better representation of women by presenting problems from a feminist perspective, not only in politics, but also in all life aspects.

“It will be difficult to build a country without acknowledging this equality between men and women as a first step. Our demand for equality cannot be true if we reject equality between men and women before anything else.”

“The literal meaning of the word ‘revolution’ refers to desire to change reality; since our reality is painful in all aspects, the revolution will continue to realize change for a better situation. For the revolution to continue, Syrians should agree on general principles rejecting political and religious dictatorship alike. Ego, narcissism and prioritization of personal interests over public ones should be ended” Doured says.

Doured dreams of Syria with freedom, justice, equality, political parties, civil society and fair and independent judiciary; Syria that is owned by its people, not by a government or authority.

Doured says to Syrian women: “You are our hope, maintain your determination, because you can do a lot and men couldn’t prove that they can do anything without efficient participation of women, and they do not seem to be able to do so soon, so you are our hope.”