User:Met2812/Women in Syria

Women in Syria are women who live in or are from Syria. Syria Comment described that Syrian women have been able to acquire several rights that have not been granted to their counterparts in other Arab nations. Such rights include the custody of children aged 15 years old or younger with a court order.

Population
Between 2010 and 2015, the average life expectancy at birth for women in Syria is 77.7 years, compared with 74.5 years for men.

History
In the 20th century a movement for women's rights developed in Syria, made up largely of upper-class, educated women.

In 1928 Lebanese-Syrian feminist Nazira Zain al-Din, one of the first people to critically reinterpret the Koran from a feminist perspective, published a book condemning the practice of veiling or hijab, arguing that Islam requires women to be treated equally with men.

In 1963 the Ba'th Party took power in Syria, and pledged full equality between women and men as well as full workforce participation for women.

In 1967 Syrian women formed a quasi-governmental organization called the General Union of Syrian Women (GUSW), a coalition of women's welfare societies, educational associations, and voluntary councils intended to achieve equal opportunity for women in Syria.

In 1989 the Syrian government passed a law requiring factories and public institutions to provide on-site childcare.

Politics
In 1949, women in Syria were first allowed to vote and received universal suffrage in 1953. In the 1950s, Thuraya Al-Hafez ran for Parliament, but was not elected. By 1971, women held four out of the 173 seats.

In 2012 women held 12% of seats in the Syrian national parliament.

Education
In Syrian universities, women and men attend the same classes.

Role in Economy
In 2011 13.1% of Syrian women participated in the labour force, compared with 71.6% of Syrian men.

Women in the military
Women are not conscripted in the military, but may serve voluntarily.

Feminism
In 1919, Naziq al-Abid founded Noor al-Fayha (Light of Damascus), the city's first women's organization, alongside an affiliated publication of the same name.She was made an honorary general of the Syrian Army after fighting in the Battle of Maysaloun, and in 1922 she founded the Syrian Red Crescent.

Attire
A common attire of women, particularly in the large cities, are Western clothing that includes long skirts, pants, jeans, high-heeled shoes, in addition to the sporting of the hijab and the monteau (a type of coat), sometimes accented by a “coordinating purse”.

Crime
In 2010 0.7% of female Syrians were intentionally murdered, compared with 4.5% of male Syrians.

Notable women

 * Ulfat Idilbi, best-selling Arabic-language novelist.
 * Muna Wassef, theater, television, and film actress.
 * Razan Zaitouneh, human rights lawyer and activist.