'On the first day I asked, "Why aren't there any more women here?"'
Hind Qabawat, Syria's Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and the only female minister in the country's interim government, was speaking to the BBC.
The first few months of the interim government's rule have seen widespread sectarian violence and loss of life, with many in Syria's minority communities blaming government forces.
Once an exiled opposition leader, Kabawat is now a member of Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara's interim government, which she was appointed to in March last year.
Speaking to the BBC, Kabawat admitted that the government had made many mistakes since Ahmed al-Shara's rebel forces entered the capital on December 8, 2024, ending decades of brutal rule by the Assad family.
However, the female minister emphasized, "There can be mistakes during the transition (in governance)."
Kabawat, a lawyer and mediator who studied at universities in Syria, Lebanon, Canada and the United States, played a key role in the Syrian exile opposition during the civil war.
Kabawat believes that one of the president's biggest mistakes is not appointing more women to his cabinet, although he says President Shara has assured him that more women will be included in the cabinet in the future.
Shara's cabinet is dominated by his close aides and a few former fighters, and Kabawat faces a difficult balancing act in this cabinet.
Reporters for the BBC's Global Women report have been with Kabawat to see her work up close. Her responsibilities include caring for Syria's most vulnerable people, including orphans, widows and the grieving families of thousands of people who disappeared under the Assad regime.
Another important task is to create jobs and provide housing for millions of people who have lost their homes due to the nearly 14-year civil war, and to alleviate the suffering of people who have fled the recent conflict.
In a country in a fragile state and economic crisis, all tasks become urgent. The United Nations says 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line.
In early January, Kabawat visited refugee camps in the northern city of Aleppo, where thousands of people displaced by fighting between government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have taken refuge.
The event, held in a hall in Idlib, brought together young and old women and some men from across Syria to celebrate the end of the old regime and discuss strategies to strengthen the role of women in decision-making at all levels.
Last summer, Qabawat tried to deliver aid to a southern town, home to the Druze community, where deadly violence broke out between Druze, Bedouin and Syrian government forces. He also contacted the family of an Alawite woman from the minority Shiite sect, who said she had been raped by armed men dressed in military uniforms.
There are some allegations that Kabawat could have done more to bridge the divide between Syria's various communities.
There are allegations that the Qabawat has not played a sufficient role in resolving conflicts between different communities in Syria.
He was asked whether the government had made mistakes in its response to the communal violence. He said, "Mistakes happen in the post-conflict and post-transition eras; no one is happy about it, not even the president."
However, Kabawat firmly stated that an investigation committee was formed in this regard and now many of the perpetrators are in prison.
Kabawat, a lawyer and mediator who studied at universities in Syria, Lebanon, Canada and the United States, played a key role in the Syrian exile opposition during the civil war.
"I see people's suffering and I feel responsible for their suffering," Kabawat said.
BBC correspondents travelled with Kabawat to the northwestern provincial capital of Idlib, an area that was a former rebel stronghold for the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham forces.
During the civil war, Kabawat worked with the women-led organization she founded, Tastakel. Tastakel means "to be free," which also encapsulates her vision of building a new Syria.
The event, held in a hall in Idlib, brought together young and old women and some men from across Syria to celebrate the end of the old regime and discuss strategies to strengthen the role of women in decision-making at all levels.
It is a matter of taking responsibility for the Kabbalah.
Not a single woman was elected from Idlib in the recent indirect elections for the new interim parliament, or People's Assembly. Overall, only 4 percent of seats went to female candidates.
He expressed his anger towards the women and said, "You should have thought politically intelligently about how to unite and get one or two women elected."
Kabawat suggested that women be more proactive and strategic in their elections at the conference. Some of the women in the room were wearing tight hijabs, some were fully covered in burqas, and some were bareheaded.
This is a comprehensive picture of women in Syria. It is a society where many traditions have been mixed. While there were fears that Shara and her supporters would follow strict Islamic principles, they did not. But some people still have concerns about this.
Former al-Qaeda commander and Islamist rebel leader Shara now wears a Western-style suit, ditching his military uniform. He presents himself as a realist.
Kabawat said that when the government was announced in March last year, President Shara assured him that more women would join the cabinet. Kabawat said, "He said, 'This is going to happen, we are in a transition.'"
Many say that Kabawat is only a symbolic woman in the cabinet, but she refuses to accept that.
"I'm not here just for show," Kabawat said. "When I work, I don't think of myself as a woman or a Christian. I think of myself as a Syrian citizen... The day I start thinking of myself as a minority or a woman, my work will lose its legitimacy."
Kabawat was asked by the BBC whether members of Shara's inner circle were now forming their own shadow government with cabinet powers. Kabawat said, "The day I see that I cannot appoint my own assistants and do not have the freedom to formulate my own strategy, I will not be there. No one can control me."
He added, "Shara cannot rely on one party. If he is not inclusive and does not bring many people together in the government... we will not survive."
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