19 Syrian Women to Remember on Women’s Day19 Syrian Women to Remember on Women’s Day

Dima Al Chaar
After graduating with a degree in foodservice & restaurant management from Montreal in Canada, Chef Dima sought to revitalize the prominent food industry in Syria. She reached the semifinals of the MENA Top Chef Program. With over 20 years of experience, Dima is sharing insightful knowledge and expertise to support the restaurant industry in Syria, all while challenging dominant masculinity in the industry.

Rania Kataf
Based in Damascus, Rania has done incredible efforts to help preserve Syria’s history, heritage, and material and non-material culture, particularly in Damascus. The independent researcher and expert has been featured and interviewed by many including CNN, organized a lecture in Berlin, and contributed to the research and documentation of Damascene houses, the Damascene Jewish community, and the experiences of women. In addition, she is the founder of Humans of Damascus as well as R’s culture, both of which directly support Syria’s local craftsmen, women, and artists.

Maryana Marrash
Syrian writer, poet, reformer, and feminist from Aleppo during the “Nahda” (Arab Renaissance era). She was the first Arab woman to write and publish articles in newspapers and a collection of poems, alongside the founding of the first literary salons/intellectual space in the region that were unsegregated.

Mary Ajami
Born in Damascus, Mary was a Syrian writer who significantly contributed to the empowerment of women. She founded the first women’s newspaper in Western Asia and North Africa in 1910, called “The Bride”. However, the newspaper lasted only until 1914, which was due to the First World War and resistance from Ottoman authorities. She taught Arabic literature at the Franciscan Sisters School and was appointed professor of Arabic literature in Baghdad in 1940.

Ghada Samman
One of the Arab world’s most notable writers, novelists, feminists, and activists. The Damascene writer has a Bachelor’s degree from the American University of Beirut, a Master’s degree from London, and a PhD from Cairo. Discussing death, life, love and friendship, by 1980, Samman’s reputation had spread throughout the Arab world, and was hailed as one of the finest novelists in Syria. She became the most widely-read Syrian novelist abroad, and in 1991 her works began to appear in English and French.

Colette Khoury
Colette’s rich and important career spans from politics to literature, as she sought to face Syria’s taboos with her writings about love and erotica. She was an independent member of the Syrian Parliament and, in 2008, was appointed literary advisor of the government. Her writings in Arabic, French, and English express her revolutionary mind, as she views the liberation of women as integral to societal progress.

Nadine Kaadan
An award-winning children’s book author and illustrator from Syria, based in London; Nadine is published in several countries and languages, and her mission is to champion empowered and inclusive representation in children’s books. She has worked closely with young refugees, was selected as one the “BBC 100 Women 2020’s” most influential and inspiring women, and her influence continues to spread worldwide.

Huda Akil
The Syrian-American from Damascus is a professor of Neuroscience and co-director of the Molecular & Behavioural Neuroscience Institute in the University of Michigan. She is a pioneer in research of the neurobiology of emotions, provided the first physiological evidence of the role of endorphins on the brain, multi-award-winning, President of the Society of Neuroscience, and a leading scientist in the Hope for Depression Research Task Force.

Nazik Al Abid
Known as “Jeanne d’Arc” of the Arab, the Damascene Nazik Al Abid stood in military uniform next to Syria’s Minister of War & Commander of the Army against the French invasion in 1920. She is a pioneer of feminism in Syria, who fought immensely for women’s rights, suffrage, and their full inclusion in social and political life. Al Abid founded several socially-significant associations and clubs, and greatly contributed to helping Palestinian refugees.

Ulfat Al-Idilbi
The novelist in Damascus wrote books that became best sellers all across the Arabic-speaking world. The late writer was also a lecturer and discussed the social situation of women across the Middle East, in addition to Syria’s resistance and freedom. Her book “Damascus- The Smile of Sadness” was translated into over 10 languages and became a TV series, as it meticulously discussed the life and struggle of a young Syrian woman facing the obstacles of the patriarchy and the French Mandate.

Yusra & Sara Mardini
Sisters Yusra and Sara are remembered for their incredible story along their journey of refuge to Europe. With a background in professional swimming in Damascus, they found themselves on a little boat from Turkey to Greece in 2015. The boat, carrying 18 other migrants, capsized, and the two sisters dragged and swam for 3 hrs across the sea, bringing them all to safety. Today, in Germany, they have become beacons of hope. Yusra trains fulltime as a professional swimmer and competed in the Olympics with the Refugee Olympic Team in Rio (2016) & Tokyo (2021). She published an autobiography and is a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. On the other hand, Sara is a passionate activist and humanitarian worker who has volunteered to assist desperate migrants arriving in Greece who are left in horrible conditions. While hailed a hero, Sara and other activists have dealt with accusations of criminal activity and have been detained before for their efforts.

Maya Ghazal
Currently based in the UK, Maya became the first female Syrian refugee pilot. She received the Princess Diana Legacy Award in 2017. In 2018, she was one of the speakers of the TEDxPalaisDesNationsWomen talk. At the age of 22, she was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR in 2021.

Razan Al Sous
Razan is a graduate from the Medical Institute in Damascus. After becoming a refugee in the UK, Razan and her family worked hard to establish Yorkshire Dama Cheese. The Syrian entrepreneur was not able to find the Syrian cheese she loves in the UK, and undertook a mission to utilize Yorkshire’s milk to produce top-quality cheese. As a result, she has received multiple international awards and royal recognition.

Carmen Tockmaji
An independent Syrian singer and professional swimmer; Carmen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Damascus University and studied classical music at the Higher Institute of Music. She has a rich musical background with many orchestras, and has several works with Syrian composer Iyad Rimawi. Nowadays, she works as a voice coach in Dubai and continues to produce beautiful music.

Faia Younan
Faia Younan is the first artist from the Middle East to crowdfund her debut, which landed her on the Guinness World Records. Today, the independent Syrian artist of indigenous Assyrian background is a face of Syrian culture and art, and is one of the youngest and most prominent singers from the region.

Lena Chamamyan
Syrian Armenian/Assyrian singer and songwriter from Damascus, Lena Chamamyan, has captured the hearts of Syrians and others worldwide with her soprano voice and unique works, which blend traditional Syrian and folk music, and its fusion with jazz and classical music. She has become a prominent face of Syrian artistry in the diaspora, and continues to produce music in Arabic, Armenian, and more.

Ilham Abu Suood
The first Arab maestro and the only female composer in Syria. She graduated in 1961 from Helwan University in Egypt with distinction, to be the first Syrian girl to obtain a higher degree in the field of music. In Syria, she entered a male-dominated field and became the first female composer in the country. Moreover, she has received 12 awards so far and was recently honored at the “23rd Arab Song Festival” in Cairo for her role in spreading and supporting original music and art throughout the Arab world.

Dima Orsho
A renowned soprano singer from Damascus, she studied at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus and at the Boston Conservatory. Dima has worked with many international artists and orchestras and performed on stages worldwide across Europe, the Middle East, and the USA. She has gained a reputation worldwide for her incredible artistry, which combines elements of the East and the West.