MSDThe Syrian Democratic Council invited Syrian women to a workshop, during which they discussed community culture and its role in empowering women and strengthening the relationship between them.
The workshop, which was held at the meeting room of the Syrian Democratic Council in Al-Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo, was attended by a number of representatives of political parties and Syrian women interested in feminist affairs.
Firstly, a member of the Relations Bureau of the Syrian Democratic Council, “Fatimah Al-Husseino”, talked about what culture is, its societal characteristics, and the extent of its impact on any change or development within society.
She touched on the status of women in society and the extent of their influence on community culture, and pointed out that despite women reached high levels at the scientific and practical levels, but there is a major problem that lies in the mismatch between their real capabilities and legally and socially recognized rights, in which this matter doesn’t correspond to their aspirations.
For her part, Nisreen Ibrahim, the Co-administrator of the Religious Affairs Foundation in Aleppo, said that the community culture that entrenched popular misconceptions limited women’s work and kept them away from practicing their true role in life under the title “preserving heritage, customs and traditions”. In turn, that contributed to the consolidation of a wrong image of women.
Regarding the weak political participation of women, Nisreen Ali, an activist in the field of women’s rights, explained that women’s distancing from political participation is attributed to the presence of many social obstacles related to popular culture, which have a significant role and impact in excluding women from decision-making positions.
In the same context, Hanifah Ajaj, who works in the teaching field, pointed out that women are the dynamic force that supports development and democratic transition in society, stressing the importance of empowering women in order to be able to play their roles effectively for the advancement of the individual and society.
Laila Khaled, the Co-administrator of the Cultural Forum in Aleppo, pointed out that the state of rapid growth and progress witnessed by societies calls for employing the efforts and energy of women in society and strengthening their social role by overcoming the obstacles and challenges they face and enhancing their participation in various fields, especially the political one.
At the end of the workshop, the female participants stressed the importance of spreading awareness in the community by the media and increasing the holding of workshops to change the cultural concepts hostile to women and replace those wrong concepts with positive concepts that encourage showing the truth of women and preserving their rights.
