Meghan Bodette and Aras Yussef share the results of a survey of 31 women co-chairs in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. They find that while representation at all levels of political leadership is gender equitable by design, women still face conservative pushback and other obstacles.

Women are left out of political leadership in every country in the world. As of October 2024, they made up just 19 heads of state, 23.3% of cabinet members, and 26.9% of parliamentarians globally. UN Women warns that “at the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years.”  

In northeast Syria, however, women are building unprecedented political strength. The Women’s Defense Units (YPJ), the all-female detachment of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), won the admiration of the US-led Global Coalition during the war against ISIS. Behind the front lines, in the affiliated civilian governing body known as the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), every leadership position is held jointly by one woman and one man.  

Read more at: https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/model-gender-equitable-leadership-northeast-syria