Global Women
Syria's Woman at the Top
In Syria's new government, what difference can one woman make in a cabinet of men charged with moving a nation from war to peace? A little more than a year after Bashar Al-Assad's regime was ousted, ending decades of dictatorship, former opposition leader Hind Kabawat is tackling some of the toughest jobs in her Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. 'I'm not here for window dressing!' is her rebuke to critics who say she's a token woman, a Christian, in the new order of President Ahmed al-Sharaa. The former commander linked to Al-Qaeda now positions himself as a pragmatist. His transitional government is still dominated by his close aides and some former fighters. For BBC Global Women, our Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet travelled to Syria to spend time with Hind Kabawat as she meets some of the millions of Syrians still living in dire poverty, displaced in tents or fearful of sectarian violence. She calls on the world to support Syria, and calls on her president to empower more women.