Text by Dima Azzouz, edited by Constanze Kummer

Syria experienced a significant period of political instability in its modern history, which had an impact on all political, economic, and educational aspects.

When the Baath Party came to power in Syria in 1963, they followed a socialist approach like many Eastern European countries. The party aimed to strengthen the relationship with the Soviet Union at the time, taking measures that will be explained in the following text. (Ginat, 2006)

During the years 1964 and 1965, the country experienced a major transformation towards a socialist economy since almost all factories and laboratories were socialized, even the foreign trade and real estate business became state-owned. In this context the relations to many Arab countries improved and helped Syria to overcome its isolation. (Ginat , The Soviet Union and the Syrian Ba’th regime: from hesitation to rapprochement, 2006)

This alliance between Syria and the USSR aroused the concern of Western countries, since Syria showed its rejecting towards Western politics. This position helped to strengthen the relations with the countries of the Soviet Union and helped Syria to achieved economic and military support. In this way major projects could be realized in Syria, like the Al Furat dam project. Furthermore Syria bought weapons and military equipment from Russia. As for Russia, in return, it benefited from establishing its presence in Syria, as the regime was weak during this period and needed some allies in order to support it and strengthen its influence locally and internationally. In response to this supportive position, Syria followed Russia approach regarding politics and international relations. Over the years, this relationship strengthened and showed a major impact on Syrian society as well. The following paragraph will therefore give a short insight on the educational situation and the status of women in Syrian society. (Ginat, The Soviet Union and the Syrian Ba’th regime: from hesitation to rapprochement, 2006)

Syrian women always played an important role in society throughout history. However the women’s participation in public life only started in the modern history of Syria in the late 19th century. From then on some women achieved noticeable political and revolutionary roles, and even in some cases military ones.

In this context the educational training for women in Syria also improved strongly. Especially Syrian universities are considered as a place for equal education, with an equal representation of female and male students without social, sexual or religious discrimination. Consequently Syrian female and male students attend the same classes and study equally. Over the years the number of females attending higher education in Syria has grown significantly. Two established female architects, Nadia Basir and Abeer Arkawi, who were trained at universities in Syria and East Germany, continue this course as they currently work at Damascus University in Syria. They are portrait at our website through a short entry.

Despite these progressive changes in the interest of women in the modern history of Syria, there is still work to be done to represent female architects in the academic field as well as in the practicing field (e.g. architecture offices, engineering offices, public planning offices etc.).

References:

– Ginat, Rami, The Soviet Union and the Syrian Ba’th regime: from hesitation to rapprochement. Middle Eastern studies, 36:2, PP 150-171

– Adamec, Jan; Trentin, Massimiliano; Gasztold, Przemyslaw, Syria during the Cold War: the East European connection. University of St Andrews, Centre for Syrian Studies, 2014

– Basir, Nadia, Interview Women in Architecture. Conducted and Published by Twenty-Two, a syrian architectural magazine, 40th Issue, 2016, PP 24-27

– Arkawi, Abeer, Interview Women in Architecture. Conducted and Published by Twenty-Two, a syrian architectural magazine, 40th Issue, 2016, PP 28-33

– Official Internet Website, Damascus University- Faculty of Architecture

– www.Syrianhitory.com/en/photos?tag=Syrian+women

– data.un.org/en/iso/sy.html-Syrian Arab Republic/ Social Indicators