Women Write Better Constitutions

Even as fighting rages in Eastern Ghouta, Syrians on different sides of the conflict are trying to come together to write a new constitution. The vast majority of those involved in these negotiations are men. But fresh research tells us why their chances of success will be far greater if the drafting process includes Syria’s women.

The agreement to write a new founding pact emerged from the latest round of Syrian peace talks held in the Russian resort town of Sochi on Jan. 30, which brought together the United Nations, Russia, and mostly pro-Bashar al-Assad Syrian delegates. The main Syrian opposition leader later agreed to cooperate on a new constitution, as long as the drafting is firmly anchored in the U.N.-led peace and transition process. Bargaining has now begun over the composition of the constitutional committee, which Staffan de Mistura, the U.N. special envoy to Syria, wants to assemble “while the iron is hot.”

Read the full article in Foreign Policy »

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