YUSRA AL-EHMED

Raqqa- The Confederation of Democratic Society Organizations (CDSO) was founded in North and East Syria on January 31, 2024, aiming at being an umbrella organization for all unions, cooperatives, chambers, women's and youth organizations based on democracy.

In an interview with NuJINHA, Nesrin Hasan, Co-chair of the CDSO, emphasized the importance of women’s roles in society to guarantee the rights of all women and to build a democratic and free society led by women.

‘The Confederation aims to be an umbrella organization for all organizations’

Speaking about the foundation of the confederation, she said, “Following the liberation of Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij and Deir ez-Zor, we started to establish civil society organizations, as a result of a struggle that lasted more than ten years. In 2024, we founded the confederation, aiming at uniting all unions, cooperatives, women and youth organizations under an umbrella organization as part of the Social Contract.”

Nesrin Hasan also talked about the principles of the confederation. “The confederation aims to unite all segments in society. It adopts the system of the Autonomous Administration (of North and East Syria) based on equality, freedom, ecology and democracy. It supports the decisions of the Autonomous Administration.”

How the confederation works

 Giving information about how the confederation works, Nesrin Hasan said, “The confederation is a non-government organization, aiming to defend the rights of the people. We have organized various seminars, campaigns and meetings in every canton to give information about the activities of the confederation. The confederation has six executive board members, two co-chairs and two vice co-chairs. It has a council consisting of 120 representatives of all organizations. The confederation has nine offices, including a women's office responsible for organizing women, an anti-violence office, an office of foreign affairs and an environmental office aiming to raise environmental awareness.”

‘It aims to ensure public safety

The confederation is also responsible for protecting the resources in the region against the Turkish attacks, Nesrin Hasan said. “The confederation also aims to ensure public safety and defend civilian infrastructure in the region against the Turkish attacks.”

‘Women play an important role in the confederation’

Nesrin Hasan also mentioned the role of women in the confederation. “Women and women’s organizations play an important role in the confederation. Women play an important role in representing themselves in all organizations and segments in northeastern Syria,” she said, calling on all women to unite and increase women’s participation in decision-making positions. “We will keep making efforts to ensure that women’s thoughts and voices are taken into account in all decision-making processes.”