Syrian Women Have a Huge Part to Play – Here Are Two of Them

She corrected Turkish FM Hakan Fidan when he began his statement with ‘Our Syrian brothers…’ ‘And our Syrian sisters,’ she interjected. That was the first lesson.

Syrian activist Hind Kabawat on the left, Turkish FM Hakan Fidan in the middle, Syrian FM Asaad Hasan al-Shaibani to his right, and BBC’s chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet on the far right as the moderator. Src: AA.

It really doesn’t matter if she was chosen as a token female participant to prevent the panel from looking like a mannel. I’ve been there, in Oxford or elsewhere, where my gender felt like a bigger factor in my inclusion than anything I had to say. I used to get mad, turning down invitations the moment I sensed it. I don’t anymore. I show up and say what I want to say. That’s me—and many other women—choosing to use any crack to push through and voice the issues that matter. That was on my mind as I watched the panel on Syria at the Munich Security Conference last week.

The panel had three people: Syria’s Foreign Minister al-Shaibani, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, and Syrian Christian political activist Hind Kabawat. At first glance, she might have seemed…