By Hani Salem
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Razan Shams, a pseudonym for a female journalist in Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria, believes that immigration is her only hope if she insists on working in the media.
She feels hopeless about the possibility of working in her society due to the restrictions imposed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) on both women and media. “How about when these restrictions join together?” she exclaimed.
The position of the Salvation Government, civil wing of the HTS, was conclusive when they issued a resolution that prohibited girls and women from studying journalism at the Idlib University.
In 2022, Idlib University inaugurated the Faculty of Political Science and Media, which only males are allowed to enroll in.
In November, the university celebrated the establishment of the faculty’s new building, which is limited to males. Meanwhile, other faculties include separate buildings for males and females.
Bound dreams
Shams said ever since she was a student at Aleppo University in 2015, she had a desire and ambition to be distinguished in preparing reports and documentaries.
She was forced to flee to Turkey because she was pursued by security apparatuses affiliated with the Syrian government. This ended her ambition and work as a journalist.
When she returned to Idlib in 2017, she hoped to resume her job as a journalist, driven by the strong desire to convey the reality in her community and report the events unfolding in her war-torn country.
However, she said that the obstacles imposed by the HTS and the Ministry of Information significantly delayed many of the projects she aspired to achieve.
“After only six months, two of my colleagues permanently stopped working. They terminated our license under the pretext of deliberate interaction with men,” she told North Press.
At the time, Shams managed to regain her license with the help of connections within the HTS.
She described what she experienced later as a series of “misfortunes” due to repeated accusations of various offenses, including “working with men, being alone with a man, and engaging in indecency and taboos.”
Shams stressed that forbidding girls from studying media is just one facet of the broader limitations faced by women. Existing social restrictions, reinforced by HTS’ extremism, can end dreams and aspirations of women and girls in Idlib.
“Any position that enables women to lead their community or showcases their success and strength is prohibited and forbidden,” she said.
Male-dominated fields
Abu Muhammad, a pseudonym for an employee in the Student Affairs Department at Idlib University, believes that the reason for prohibiting girls from studying and practicing journalism is due to HTS’ political and religious rules. These rules suggest that “the best place for a woman is her house.”
He added that discussing this idea with any HTS officials would inevitably lead to the viewpoint that “media, politics, and war are domains of power and leadership… which are perceived as fields for men.”
However, a female activist from a local organization that focuses on empowering women to find jobs, said that even in faculties such as medicine, pharmacy, and engineering, the available seats for female students are 30 percent less than those available for male students.
Furthermore, HTS prohibits females from having private lessons in their homes, whereas allowing males under the argument of preventing social contact between both genders.
According to the activist, projects aimed at empowering women and enhancing their role in society are rejected by the Salvation Government. They obstruct these projects by not granting licenses and creating various barriers, accounting for 70 percent of the challenges encountered.
The exclusion of women from the fields of media and political science can be attributed to religious beliefs that deem women unfit for leadership and representation. Additionally, it is feared that participating in these fields would open the door to various religious violations.
It is noteworthy that most Arab countries have surpassed such restrictions, with Arab female journalists emerging even from Gulf countries, for example.
The decision to prohibit girls from pursuing university education, even though it is not a complete ban on all branches, brings to mind Taliban’s actions after the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan.