Marital Politics in Post-Assad Syria: The Emerging Role of Syria’s New First Lady, by Danielle Demers – 24 October 2025

From Al-Jumhuriya

Syrian social media was abuzz in June when Ahmad al-Sharaa, the country’s transitional president, chaired an Eid al-Adha event for prominent Syrian women. What drew attention was not al-Sharaa’s presence, however, but that of his companion: his wife, Latifah al-Droubi. This was just her fourth public appearance since her husband – a jihadist-turned-politician who once commanded al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate – became president of Syria, after leading last December’s whirlwind military campaign that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s longstanding regime.

During the event, al-Sharaa praised Syrian women for their sacrifices during the war. He singled out his wife, sharing that she remained by his side throughout 14 years of conflict. He recalled how they moved nearly 50 times during the years of fighting – roughly once every three months – sometimes sheltering in caves and on poultry farms. He described her patience and commitment to meet harsh conditions “with a smile” as emblematic of the broader role that Syrian women played throughout the long years of revolution and war.

This event was not an isolated moment of nostalgia. Rather, al-Sharaa’s transitional government – dominated by men from his former hardline Islamist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – is increasingly highlighting women and their revolutionary contributions in an effort to quell domestic distrust and woo international support. Al-Droubi, who was unknown until a few months ago, has quickly become a vessel for signalling to both these constituencies.

Wifely Politics on the Global Stage

Syria’s transitional government has urgent foreign policy priorities, including the lifting of sanctions, normalizing trade, attracting investment, and deterring foreign intervention. For al-Sharaa, proving his administration’s pragmatism is critical: but this project has been somewhat hindered by the fact that HTS emerged as the result of a merger between Syria’s al-Qaeda affiliate, Jabhat al-Nusra, and several other Islamist groups operating in Syria.

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Danielle Demers is a researcher and PhD candidate at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy (Tufts University), focusing on gender and governance in Syria. With over a decade of experience in the country’s humanitarian response, her writing explores intersections of power, survival, and resistance in authoritarian and conflict-affected contexts.

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