Syrian university restriction on female enrollment deepens concerns over women’s rights

Syria's Higher Education Ministry has restricted female enrollment in law, economics, and social sciences at the National University of Defense Sciences to men only, while women may only apply to cybersecurity at the Syrian University for Security Sciences. Human Rights Watch condemned the policies as discriminatory, warning of a pattern restricting women's roles. Applications closed on Monday with no changes.

Syria's Higher Education Ministry announced on September 30 that admission to law, economics and management, and social sciences programs at the National University of Defense Sciences would be restricted to men. At the Syrian University for Security Sciences, women may apply only to cybersecurity programs. Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned the policies as discriminatory, warning they form part of a 'concerning pattern' of state actions restricting women's roles in Syrian society. HRW senior Syria adviser Hiba Zayadin stated that women cannot train as officers or study to be the army's lawyers or administrators. A former Higher Education Ministry official told AFP that some gender-based admission policies had long been in place, but excluding women from defense and security universities is new. The restrictions follow an August decision barring members of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) from joining the army. State technical institutes for oil and gas and railway studies also admit only male applicants. The article notes that women are underrepresented in parliament and some public offices, and are now shut out of the army. Applications closed on Monday, and the admission rules remain unchanged.