7. ‘Mothers of the Nation’: The Ambivalent Role of Motherhood in Assad’s Syria and the Non-liberatory Subject

In the second half of the 20th century, Syria went through a phase of state development that included fairly secular features; however, the personal status law in Syria remained based on the Shari’a law. This dual system of both secular and religious courts left Syrian women vulnerable to discrimination. Although there is an existing personal status law that permits women to take control over “issues related to marriage, divorce, custody, and other family matters,” the patriarchal values and the laws tied to the Shari’a law continue to have a huge impact. For instance, marital rape and domestic violence are not recognized by the law, and marriage contracts must be filed between the father of the bride and the groom (Charles and Denman, 2012). If a divorce must take place, the man can simply order this divorce by going to court and requesting it verbally three times in a row. However, for a woman to request a divorce, she first needs her husband’s approval andmust prove to the juridical court that she has a valid right for a divorce; for example, she must have proof that she was abused or neglected by her spouse. Moreover, a husband in Syria can forbid his wife from working outside the home and is entitled to forbid her from travelling outside of Syria (Freedom House, 2010). But because the personal status law is arbitrary, most of these prohibitions can be toppled if women in Syria were more informed about their legal rights. For instance, a study done by Freedom House (2010) revealed that: