New women's news director Aisha al-Dibs tells Al Jazeera women from all walks of life and ethnicities to help rebuild the war-torn country.
The new head of the Women's Affairs Office under the Syrian government said the organization will help women to help rebuild the country, which has been torn apart by more than a decade of conflict.
In an interview with Al Jazeera from Damascus on Sunday, Aisha al-Dibs said the government was committed to involving Syrian women in social, cultural and political organizations, and recruiting qualified women in the medical and educational sectors.
“We all know that the Syrian woman, historically, is a very effective woman, capable of leading in all fields. Today, we are in the process of bringing her back to the leading position of building Syria, a new country, a free country that we all are waiting for,” said al- Dibs.
He pledged to encourage women from all Syrian regions and ethnic groups to participate in the upcoming international conference, which will discuss the country's future.
Al-Dibs said the establishment of the Women's Affairs Office, which he is the head of, answered questions about the role of Syrian women in the new government.
Syria's new regime came to power this month after the opposition, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)launched a lightning strike from northwestern Idlib in November, taking city after city from unrelenting government forces.
Resistance forces he arrived in Damascus in the early hours of December 8 and announced the end of more than 50 years of the iron rule of the Bashar al-Assad family in Syria.
Western countries are grappling with their strategy against HTS, a former al-Qaeda affiliate. HTS has been designated a “terrorist” group by many Western governments, although the group has controlled its rhetoric in recent months.
The United Nations Security Council in a sentence Earlier this week he called for the establishment of a “political process led by Syria and Syria” which he said should meet the aspirations of all Syrians, protect them all and “enable them to choose peacefully, independently and democratically. your future”.
Help for women in prison
After toppling al-Assad, opposition forces freed thousands of Syrians from prisons run by the former regime. Tens of thousands of people believed to have been arrested by al-Assad's regime are still at large unknown.
Al-Dibs also said that his office will prepare a report on the female prisoners who have been released from prison and work on the proper preparation. He also said that he would file charges against prison officials accused of violating prison rights.
He said the “sudden and unorganized efforts” of people who had joined opposition groups in opening the prison had led to the corruption of prison records. The result was that many female prisoners disappeared.
“I will set up a phone number that is given to women who are in prison, whether for a long time or recently, so that I can read and work with them,” al-Dibs said.
“Women who have been arrested need emotional support to recover. They need education, medical care and legal protection as they prepare to file charges against the prison authorities.”
Al-Dibs, whose appointment was announced on Friday, is the first female minister in Syria's new government. He is known for his freedom struggle and humanitarian work. He previously worked with a charity in northwestern Idlib and in a Syrian refugee camp in Turkey.