ROSHELLE JUNIOR

Sweida — Women activists across various societies face multiple forms of pressure and targeting whenever their presence in public affairs increases or their voices rise to demand rights, justice, and equality. Among the most common methods are smear campaigns that focus not on the ideas or issues raised, but on personal life and reputation, aiming to weaken the activists' societal influence and reduce their participation in the public sphere.

Human rights defenders and activists believe that these campaigns represent a form of moral violence and social exclusion, as they seek to shift the discussion from substantive issues to personal accusations, thereby limiting women's ability to participate effectively in public debates and decision‑making. In recent years, this phenomenon has become notably prominent in several countries, including Syria, where women activists and human rights defenders face organised campaigns targeting their role and their rights-based demands.

Under the control of the jihadists of Hay'at Tahrir al‑Sham, the Syrian arena is witnessing an escalation in smear campaigns targeting women activists and human rights defenders who participate in public affairs and demand civil, livelihood, and political rights. Women activists and human rights defenders believe that these campaigns do not target specific individuals as much as they represent a systematic attempt to exclude women from the public sphere and silence female voices demanding rights and justice.

Targeting Activists through Smear Campaigns

In this context, lawyer Ibtisam Masoud, a member of the Syrian Women's Lobby, spoke about what she described as an escalating campaign targeting Syrian women activists, pointing out that what activist Suzan Zakzak was subjected to is a recurring example of what activists face in the human rights and feminist fields.

She said that activists often participate in campaigns related to demanding livelihood rights, the rule of law, or achieving justice — demands that affect all citizens — yet the response comes through targeting their personal lives and questioning their reputation instead of discussing the issues they raise.

She added that Suzan Zakzak has an honourable history of struggle and human rights work, yet smear campaigns sought to ignore this history and focus on personal aspects in order to distort her image and divert the discussion from the core issue she struggles for.

She believes that these practices fall within a broader policy aimed at excluding women from positions of influence and political decision‑making, noting that targeting one activist carries a message of intimidation to other women, pushing them to hesitate to engage in public work for fear of their reputation.

Feminist Solidarity and Calls for Empowerment

Ibtisam Masoud indicated that the Syrian Women's Lobby launched a solidarity campaign with Suzan Zakzak that focused on her activist history and the issues she defends, rather than being drawn into responding to smear campaigns.

She affirmed the importance of strengthening solidarity among women and encouraging them to continue their civil and political work, considering that reaching decision‑making positions requires empowering women, supporting their participation, and not succumbing to attempts at intimidation and exclusion.

She also called for establishing a media code of honour that supports women, combats hate speech, sectarianism, and takfirism, and distinguishes between legitimate criticism aimed at developing ideas and performance, and exclusionary criticism that targets personal life and aims at intimidation and marginalisation.

She stressed the need for human rights institutions and organisations that support women and provide them with moral and legal protection, affirming that women's struggle is not against men, but against ignorance, poverty, and backwardness, and that achieving justice and equality is a shared societal responsibility.

Ibtisam Masoud touched on the issue of legal protection, pointing out that there are legal texts concerning cybercrimes and defamation through virtual means of communication, yet their application remains limited, leaving many women vulnerable to abuse without obtaining actual protection or redress.

The Media and Its Role in Confronting Smear Campaigns

For her part, media professional Amal Al‑Hasabani said that Syrian women have suffered from marginalisation for decades, despite many of them possessing scientific and professional expertise that enabled them to reach advanced positions, yet their actual participation in decision‑making remained limited.

She noted that the recent period has witnessed an escalation in smear campaigns targeting women who demand rights or participate in public debate, explaining that many media outlets and online pages address these issues from unprofessional angles, focusing on personal aspects or the physical appearance of women rather than discussing their ideas and demands.

She added that some activists with a long record in civil and feminist work have been subjected to waves of mockery and bullying, where the focus was on their age or physical appearance, while their roles, expertise, and contributions to society were ignored.

Amal Al‑Hasabani believes that this behaviour reflects the persistence of an exclusionary view of women, where they are evaluated based on their appearance or private life rather than their ideas and achievements.

She affirmed that the responsibility of the media lies in retelling women's stories in a professional and fair manner, focusing on the messages and issues they raise, while presenting a true picture of women's role in society and their contributions to development and decision‑making.

Women's Voices Reject Exclusion

Women activists and human rights defenders affirm that smear campaigns are not merely individual attacks, but tools of pressure aimed at limiting women's participation in public life and excluding them from positions of influence. In response, Syrian women affirm their continued defence of their rights and their demand for an active role in building society and participating in decision‑making, despite all attempts at intimidation and exclusion.

Observers believe that confronting this phenomenon requires the combined efforts of media institutions, human rights organisations, and civil society, in addition to enhancing societal awareness of the importance of respecting freedom of opinion and women's right to full participation in public life without fear of defamation or personal targeting.