Syrian defense universities restrict women’s admission to most programs — Jerusalem Post
In Syria, two newly established state universities specializing in defense and security have restricted women’s admission opportunities. On September 30, the Ministry of Higher Education announced that only men would be admitted to law, economics and management, as well as social sciences programs at the National University of Defense Sciences.
At the Syrian University of Security Sciences, women may apply only for cybersecurity programs. At the same time, several state institutions specializing in preschool education, midwifery and nursing admit only women. Applications closed on Monday, and the admission rules remained unchanged despite criticism, The Jerusalem Post reports.
Human Rights Watch assessment
Human Rights Watch said that the restrictions contradict Syria’s Constitutional Declaration and the country’s international legal obligations. Hiba Zayadin, HRW’s senior Syria researcher, noted that the authorities are building an army and security forces without women: they cannot train as officers or receive education to work as military lawyers or administrators.
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According to HRW, despite the opening of the Women’s Police Institute, whose first graduating class completed its studies in September, restrictions in most defense university programs effectively bar women from military service. In August, Syrian authorities also prohibited members of the YPJ, the women’s unit of the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces, from joining the army.
Restrictions in other fields
Gender restrictions also extend to state technical institutes training specialists for the oil and gas and railway industries, which admit only men. A former Ministry of Higher Education official told Agence France-Presse last month that some such rules had existed for a long time, but the exclusion of women from defense and security universities is a new phenomenon.
In December 2024, a government spokesperson suggested that women might be biologically unsuited to certain political roles and described the issue of their working as judges as a matter for experts to study. The following month, the governor of Latakia prohibited female civil servants from wearing excessive makeup and threatened legal action for violating the ban.
