News Center- The Zenubya Women’s Community, Kongra Star and 34 women’s organizations issued a joint statement, stressing that the National Dialogue being held in Damascus “does not represent all ethnic, religious groups and women in Syria and the hope of the Syrian people for building a democratic Syria.”

The representatives of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) were not invited to the so-called National Dialogue Conference being held in Damascus by Syria's new interim government.

In the statement, the organizations condemned the government for not inviting all the representatives of the Syrian people. “Not inviting all representatives does not pave the way for the national dialogue but division. The conference does not represent all ethnic, religious groups and women in Syria and the hope of the Syrian people for building a democratic Syria.”

The statement criticized the women’s low participation in the conference. “The conference ignores the role of women while women constitute half of the population in Syria. Syrian women were and still are at the heart of the struggle for freedom and dignity, and they cannot be marginalized or their voices cannot be ignored in any political process aimed at building the future of Syria.”

The women’s organizations said in the statement that the conference “is not a national dialogue conference but a deficient conference without comprehensive representation that does not reflect the true diversity of Syria. The conference ignores the challenges faced by the Syrian people. We will keep defending the rights of Syrian women and promote their participation in politics and decision-making positions to build a democratic Syria. As women’s organizations, we do not recognize this conference.  We believe that the future of Syria can only be built through a comprehensive dialogue that represents all ethnic and religious groups, hears their voices, and respects their rights.”