Actress, Christian professor, Kurdish leader

DAMASCUS — In Syria’s first post-Assad parliament, women lawmakers stand out more for their diversity than their numbers: a famous actress, a Christian engineer, a Kurdish leader and the widow of a hardline Islamist commander.

Women hold 22 of the 207 current seats in Syria’s parliament, or just over 10 per cent, similar to the previous assembly under longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by an Islamist alliance in 2024 after more than a decade of civil war.

The parliament held its opening session in July, though some of its seats have yet to be filled.

With 15 of the women appointed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, the lineup likely reflects the new authorities’ keenness to demonstrate inclusivity following criticism that women and minorities have been under-represented in the country’s post-war transition.

Glamorous actress Rouzaina Lazkani, 36, known for television dramas, was catapulted into politics when she was among the 70 lawmakers appointed by Sharaa under the country’s transitional constitutional arrangements.

Lazkani, who studied dramatic arts in Damascus and never imagined playing a political role, learned of her appointment two days before it was announced publicly.

“I thought one of my colleagues was playing a trick on me,” she said in a television interview.

Her native Hama, in central Syria, is notorious for a 1982 massacre under Assad’s father, Hafez, who cracked down on a revolt there by Islamist group the Muslim Brotherhood.

Her appointment caught many by surprise due to her artistic, apolitical background.

Confessing she was “certainly not well-versed in politics”, Lazkani said that “at this stage, I feel I deserve prayers more than blessings”.