Inside Syria: The Back-Story of Their Civil War - Essay Example

Syria

In terms of human rights, Syria remains one of the advanced countries in the Arab nation. Syria women have a long history of emancipation. In 1949, the Syria women attained the right to vote and their political involvement can be traced back from the times of independence to the Ottoman Empire that started in the last century. Nonetheless, the outcomes of their participation can be tied to the existing repressive political climate in Syria. The Baath Party which is a pan-Arab nationalist took power in 1963 through a coup and later enforced a state of emergency whereby it suspended many protections and provisions of the legal system. For example, the 1973 constitution demands for equality among all the Syria citizens. There is an article in the constitution that demands that the state eliminates the obstacles that prevent women from advancing. Moreover, the government guidelines have not only encouraged women's involvement in the workforce but also education. The mentioned policies contributed to an increase in the women's literacy and labor participation (George, 2006).

However, there have been limited legal reforms to ensure that there is equality between the genders. Additionally, women lack channels to challenge the discriminatory practices and laws. Despite the fact that the representation of women in the national parliament remains higher, their presence in the judiciary and executive is limited. The mentioned reduces the role of women in not only developing but also implementing and enforcing the country's policy decision. There is also restriction particularly on the freedom of association an aspect that forces most of the women's rights organizations to continue with their operations illegally. In addition, government affiliated organizations or national leadership impose change in Syria (George, 2006).

In 2003, the Syria government ratified the convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. This stirred a wide range of activities among the women. Nonetheless, the Syria government filed different reservation that affected the major provisions of the covenant. There have been reservations to implement the covenant provisions; hence, very few changes have been implemented. It is also important to note that the nationality law of Syria still prevents women from passing their citizenship to women. However, such reservations do not affect the men. It is important to note that the policy prevents the Palestine population that is about half a million from being assimilated. The penal code also has several discriminatory provisions that have remained unchanged over the years. For example, the evidentiary burden and definition for adultery in Syria is unique to every gender as women experience stricter sentences compared to men.

According to Guy (2007), the authoritarian political system and the societal patriarchal values make women to remain vulnerable to gender based violence not only inside but also outside their homes. According to recent studies, domestic violence remains prevalent in the whole of Syria but the abuses are not extensively outlawed. For example, spousal rape is not punishable according to the definition of rape. On the Syrian personal status law, women also do have full control on different issues such as custody and marriage.

A high percentage of women, especially those living in the rural areas, do not have full understanding of their legal rights and hence respond to the family or social pressure. The mentioned is more evident in respect to property rights. The Sharia laws exhibit the unequal rights that justify the existing requirements that men should provide for women. The practice makes women to entirely depend on men for financial assistance (George, 2006).

The Islamic fundamentalists groups have heightened the opposition of women's rights. The society demands women to uphold the honor of the family. Furthermore, if they fail to conform to the societal norms, they face pressure from not only the family but also the society (Guy, 2007).

It is important to note that the absence of free public sphere make it challenging for right activists to continue with their operations. For example, the groups cannot freely lobby the government for specific changes or raise awareness on different issues. However, there is wide access to the internet an aspect that has contributed to changing the reality. It can be argued that there is no law that prohibits discrimination of women. Consequently, there are no complaint mechanisms and women have been denied the access to the mentioned opportunities and rights. Even though there have been efforts to recognize trafficking of persons and honor killings, there has been little effort to outlaw the mentioned. For instance, the law requires Jewish women to men, and men are allowed to marry more than one woman in some circumstances (Guy, 2007).

Consequently, there is Article 3 of the nationality law that denies women the opportunity to pass their nationality to their children while men can easily do so. Women who are married to non-Syrians are allowed to retain their citizenship; however, they cannot transfer the same to their husbands. Children from such marriages are disadvantaged because they lack the rights that Syrian citizens enjoy. There are also certain penal code provisions that discriminate women. For example, when it comes to adultery men and women receive disparate treatment under Articles 548, 239 and 242. For instance, as a prove in any given case, a woman is allowed to only produce a written evidence while the man has the permission to present all types of evidence. Moreover, Article 33 of the Syrian Constitution not only prohibits exile but also protect against moving freely within the nation. Nonetheless, all civilians especially those active politically are subjected to detention and arrest (George, 2004).

The Syrian problem started in 2011. It began as a peaceful protest but later changed into an armed conflict. The conflict resulted in loss of 100,000 lives, in addition to forcing more than two million to become refugees in the neighboring countries. This conflict has attracted the attention of the world because of the tactics that the Syria government employed. The government troops did not only attack but also killed unarmed civilians. This is because they were looking for best way of ending the unrest. However, there is no public or civil support for the unrest. It can be argued that the U.S is not watchdog for the world, and should not get involved in matters that do not concern them (George, 2004).

Despite the political situations in Syria, independent and activist groups still operate in secrecy. For example, the Syrian Women's League has continued with its operations since 1948. Nonetheless, the mentioned wobbly existence has made it challenging for the groups to operate well. Furthermore, groups that are unregistered find it challenging to raise funds. The groups also face challenges in not only attracting but also mobilizing women in claiming their rights in the society. In order to tackle the obstacles, it is recommendable for the government to consider reforming the judicial system so as to improve the fairness and accessibility of female litigants. It is also recommendable for the government to remove all the discriminatory policies particularly the penal code, the personal status law, and the nationality law.

However, it is important to note that the significant obstacle to the gender equality in Syria is the persona status that limits the power of women in issues such as divorce and marriage. There is prevalence of domestic violence in Syria. Therefore, it is evident that women experience threats concerning their security. The state has also begun to recognize not only the need to alter the existing but also change the existing societal attitudes. In Syria, there is no official religion. Additionally, Article 35 protects the freedom of worship. Nonetheless, Article 3 of the Syria constitution states that all the laws should be drawn from the Sharia law and the president should practice Islam (Samira, 2008).

It is also important to note that ability of women to move freely and travel is subjected to social and legal restrictions. However, Article 33 of the Syria constitution protects the freedom of movement and specifically of its citizens. Husbands have the power of preventing their wives from leaving the country especially if they have their children. However, women without children can leave the country freely. Furthermore, married women experience additional restrictions particularly on their movement. This makes it challenging for the women activists to take part in their activities without hindrance (Erlich, 2014). It is also important to note that women are expected to seek the consent of their male guardian for them to marry. Women have the right to negotiate for their rights during marriage convention. Nonetheless, existing social restraints prevent them from doing so. Polygamy is allowed but with the consent with the first wife. Therefore, it is evident that despite women empowerment, Syria women still experience discrimination in places such as workplace, political arena, and the society (Samira, 2008).

In conclusion, on freedom, the Syrian conflict started in response to the government’s public and harsh punishment towards a section of the youths. The youths were drawing anti government graffiti on buildings. The punishment was seen as cruel and unjust. This made most people to take to the street to protest the same. During the same period, Egypt had also experienced the same thing via the power of the social media whereby the public and the civil society established democracy and toppled the government. The Syrian government did not want the replica of the same to occur in its country. Therefore, they acted to the protests with a lot of violence. The objective was to squash any form of resistance directed at the government as well as ensure that they consolidate their power. Initially, the aim of the protests was to seek for democracy and push Bashar al-Assad to resignation. Nonetheless, the demands were met with a lot of murder and brutality.