Society: In Grip of Poverty and Religion

A Decade in Power: Syria under Bashar al-Assad’s Rule

In 2000, the population of Syria numbered 18 million. More than half was under 19, and it had one of the highest birth rates in the world. Ten years later, the rapid population growth constitutes one of the main social challenges facing the country.

Coupled with that are increasing discrepancies between rich and poor; the deterioration of the middle class; and the large wave of migration from rural to urban areas. Another noticeable trend is the growing influence of Islam on society.

Islamic preachers, growing numbers of veiled women and Koranic schools are some of the aspects that reflect the predominant place of religion in the lives of many Syrians. While this is an expanding phenomenon all over the Arab region, some observers say that its roots in Syria are linked to Hafez’s policies in the 80s and 90s. They say that after crushing Islamist groups at the beginning of the 1980s, Assad senior wanted to contain the anger of Sunnis in the country by encouraging the building of mosques and non-political Islamist institutions, encouraging “loyal” clerics to have a more prominent role in society.

Meanwhile, civil rights groups have also been waging their battles. The last decade has witnessed efforts against so-called honour crimes; confessional personal status laws and inequalities between men and women.

On the cultural level, heavy censorship continued to stifle theatre, cinema and literature.

Read the full story here