Recent changes to university admissions rules in Syria have put a dent in Lin Najab's plans.
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changes → put → plans
The 23-year-old from Damascus is one of the few women at her college studying mechatronics engineering.
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old → study → engineering
"My original plan was to pursue a master's degree," Najab told DW.
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Najab → pursue → DW
But earlier in October, new rules were announced by Syria's education ministry regarding two newly created colleges, the National University of Defense Sciences and the Syrian University for Security Sciences.
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rules → announce → Sciences
The former now restricts certain courses exclusively to male students, and the latter almost all of them.
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latter → restrict → them
These new policies could derail Najab's plans.
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policies → derail → plans
"Now I have to start thinking about other options," she explained.
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she → have → options
"For example, I might have to move to another province to study."
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I → have → province
It is still possible for Syrian women to study the subjects offered by the two new security institutes, but only at other more generalist universities or colleges.
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women → study → universities
Moving to another province, away from family, brings other difficulties, Najab continued.
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Najab → move → difficulties
Student accommodation in dormitories is uncomfortable, but a woman living alone is still frowned upon by conservative Syrians.
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woman → live → Syrians
"Even if a girl decides she won't give up and wants to go study outside her province, her parents will be opposed to the idea, either for security reasons or because we simply don't want our daughters to go study somewhere else," said Najab.
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Najab → decide → reasons
Controversial ban
The decision to ban women from courses at the new defense and security-related colleges has caused controversy both inside and outside the country.
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decision → ban → country
"Gender doesn't define ability.
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Gender → define → ability
It should be about high academic standards, the ones I'm trying to meet," Najab argued.
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Najab → try → standards
"In Syria, we need better education and good graduates, so let's see where the best people are, regardless of gender.
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people → need → gender
Fatoun Kharbatli, an activist from Aleppo, is also opposed to the idea of limiting certain subjects to one gender.
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Kharbatli → limit → gender
"A person should choose the field in which they see their abilities as lying," she told DW.
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she → choose → DW
"We were oppressed for 60 years, so now let's be a nation that keeps pace with global civilization, but without straying from respect and from the basics of our religion.
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that → oppress → religion
Qamar al-Yaser, a mother of three in rural Damascus, believes the ban is justified.
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ban → believe → Damascus
The sectors from which women have been excluded "require a strong physique, they need big efforts, travel, organization out in the field and may require staying overnight at remote work sites," said al-Yaser.
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Yaser → exclude → sites
"These conditions suit young men more than women.
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conditions → suit → women
A closer look at some of new admission rules indicate they may be less about restricting Syrian women from certain studies and more about keeping them out of the army.
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they → indicate → army
For example, attending the National University of Defense Sciences requires that students serve in the Syrian military.
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students → attend → military
Graduates of the University for Security Sciences must also commit to serving up to 20 years with the internal security forces.
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Graduates → commit → forces
Does this mean Syria's new government is heading in an increasingly restrictive direction when it comes to women's rights?
Human Rights Watch believes so.
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it → mean → rights
A few days after the admissions announcement, the organization released a statement criticizing it.
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organization → release → it
"The discriminatory rules clearly violate Syria's international legal obligations and are part of a concerning pattern of actions by the transitional authorities that restrict women's role in state institutions and reinforce gender stereotypes," the organization said.
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organization → violate → stereotypes
Restrictions on female students were also applied at a railways institute in Aleppo, oil and gas training organizations in Rmeilan, Homs, Deir el-Zour and Baniyas, and a radio and television course in Idlib.
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Restrictions → apply → Idlib
Elsewhere men were barred from kindergarten and nursing school training and midwifery courses.
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men → bar → training
All these come on top of a number of other concerning restrictions and worrying comments by officials.
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these → come → officials
The most recent incident in the education sector involved the government's alteration of school textbooks for the 2026-2027 academic year.
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incident → involve → year
The education ministry had already announced it would be removing images and symbols associated with the previous authoritarian regime headed by dictator Bashar Assad.
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it → announce → Assad
But this week journalists also noticed other changes: Pictures of females in the textbooks who had uncovered hair had been removed, or altered so they were now wearing headscarves.
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they → notice → headscarves
A bare-chested statue pictured in one textbook was now wearing a vest.
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statue → picture → vest
A picture of men dancing was also gone.
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picture → dance → men
Common attitudes towards female soldiers
Officials have said that some of the gender-exclusionary rules implemented at the new security institutes were actually carried over from the Assad-era colleges that were fused together to create them earlier this year.
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that → say → them
Although many Arab countries allow women to attend military colleges and serve, females are often restricted to non-combat or symbolic roles, a 2024 study by the Washington-based think tank, the Middle East Institute, or MEI, reported.
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study → allow → tank
In Syria, while women have historically participated in the security services, it was "in a limited and largely symbolic capacity," the Syrian Center for Defense and Security Studies confirmed in a policy paper this year.
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Center → participate → paper
But just because an idea is widespread obviously doesn't make it right, human rights advocates have said.
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advocates → make → ?
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
