On Thursday, July 10, 2025, the Syrian Women’s Political Movement met with the Supreme Committee for the People’s Council Elections at the People’s Council headquarters. The meeting aimed to discuss ways to enhance women’s participation and ensure their fair representation in the upcoming council.

Representing the Supreme Committee for the People’s Council Elections were Anas Al-Abda, Hanan Balkhi, Lara Aizouqi, and Nawar Al-Najmi. From the Syrian Women’s Political Movement, the attendees were Hanan Zahreddin, Rajaa Tanjour, Salma Sayyad, Abdulrahman Al-Khader, Kinda Al-Nasser, Lama Al-Rajeh, and Hiaam Haj Ali. The discussion focused on the challenges and obstacles facing women’s access to decision-making positions and ways to address these during the transitional phase.

During the meeting, the proposed quota for women’s representation in the electoral council, set at 20%, was discussed. The women’s movement members emphasized that this percentage is insufficient and insisted on raising it to 30% as a transitional stage towards full parity.

The meeting also addressed the importance of supporting women candidates, especially those with academic qualifications and practical experience, to ensure broader representation of various segments of society. Attention was drawn to the challenges posed by small electoral districts and the limited number of seats, which increased the difficulty of competition for Women candidates.

SWPM members stressed the necessity of forming strong women’s alliances and supportive coalitions within electoral districts. They also recommended organizing broad community meetings with unions, social movements, and neighborhood groups to expand participation and dialogue.

Furthermore, they emphasized the need to conduct societal awareness campaigns to break cultural and social barriers facing women politicians and to simplify candidacy procedures to empower women to participate confidently in elections without organizational or societal obstacles.

The SWPM members underscored the importance that the role of the upcoming council should not be limited to symbolic formalities but should include exercising real oversight and legislative powers.

This meeting is part of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement’s efforts to ensure women’s participation during the transitional phase in building a democratic Syria based on equal citizenship.