Dima Moussa

Dima Moussa (Arabic: ديما موسى‎) (born 1978) is a Syrian lawyer, feminist and politician who was elected vice president of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in May 2018.

Early life and education

Moussa was born in Aleppo and her family is originally from Homs.[1][2] She is a Christian.[3][4] Moussa left Syria with her parents in the 1990s, when she was 15, mainly due to the practices of the regime of Hafez al-Assad.[5] Members of her extended family lived in Homs until they fled to the United States in 2012 when government forces began shelling the Christian neighbourhoods of Al-Hamidiyah during the Syrian Civil War.[6]

Moussa has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and a Juris Doctor from DePaul University.[7]

Career

Moussa is a lawyer and considered a "liberal feminist".[8] She has worked with the Human Rights Law Institute of DePaul University, focusing on Arab women's rights.[9] She began working with Syrian activists after the Syrian uprising in 2011 and became a member of the Syrian opposition later that year.[7][10] In 2011, she was a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Council of Homs.[11]

Moussa was a founding member of the Syrian National Council.[10][6] In 2014, she was a spokesperson for the activist group Homs Quarter Union, speaking out about deaths in the city due to starvation during the siege and noting that humanitarian aid had not reached the city since December 2012.[12]

Moussa joined the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in October 2016,[10] and is a founding member and member of the General Secretariat of the Syrian Women's Political Movement, established in October 2017.[10][5] In May 2016, she was one of 34 signatories to a letter to US President Barack Obama, calling on the United States to enforce the cessation of hostilities and take action to protect civilians in Aleppo.[13]

Moussa has worked with Conscience Convoy, in May 2018 speaking as part of a delegation to the Ukrainian parliament speaking against human rights abuses against women in Syria.[14] On International Women's Day 2018, she issued an appeal to women across the world to participate in sit-ins to highlight the suffering of Syrian women under the Assad regime, noting the continued silence on the murder, detention, kidnapping and rape of women in Syria.[15]

Moussa was elected vice president of the Syrian National Coalition alongside Abdel Basset Hamo and Bader Jamous in May 2018, under President Abdurrahman Mustafa.[8][16]

In June 2018, she called for international intervention after Assad put Law No. 10 in place, which aims to prevent refugees from returning to their homes,[17] saying that it shows the government is "not serious" about engaging in transition.[18][19]

Personal life

Moussa speaks Arabic, English and Assyrian.[9]

References
  1. Fordham, Alice (4 February 2012). "Over 200 reported killed in Syrian attack on Homs". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  2. "Russia, China block U.N. Syria resolution". UPI. 4 February 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  3. "Syrian Expatriates Examine the Roles of Women and Minorities in Uprising". United States Institute of Peace. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  4. "Dima Moussa call for the Syrian Christian in Washington DC rally". 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  5. Köksal, Nil (1 December 2017). "Syrian feminists fight for say in postwar peace talks". CBC Radio Canada. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  6. Sherlock, Ruth (8 April 2012). "Syria: Easter cancelled in Homs after churches bombed". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  7. "Dima Moussa". Eye to the Future. Archived from the original on 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  8. "Coalition Elections: Syrians Not Interested and Not Surprised Either". The Syrian Observer. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  9. "Voices from the Front Lines: Update on the Syrian Opposition". United States Institute of Peace. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  10. "Dima Moussa". National Coalition of Syria.
  11. "2 French journalists safely out of Syria". CNN. 1 March 2012.
  12. Di Giovanni, Janine (7 February 2014). "Syria's Hunger Games". Newsweek. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  13. "Syrians Tell Obama: Enforce the Ceasefire to Save Syrian Lives". Save Our Syria. 6 May 2016. Archived from the original on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  14. Goktas, Meryem (17 May 2018). "Plight of Syrian women in focus at Ukrainian parliament". Anadolu Agency. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  15. "Appeal to all Women Across the World to Rescue Syrian Women from Assad's Hell". SY-24. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  16. "Turkmen politician elected as head of Syrian moderate opposition". Daily Sabah. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  17. Diamond, Sara (7 June 2018). "Syrian Coalition Meets to Discuss Assad Violations Against Civilians". The Media Express. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  18. Alaa, Mohamad (23 May 2018). "National Coalition: "Regulatory areas law has adverse impact on political transition"". Smart News. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  19. "Coalition Meets With Friends of Syria to Discuss Assad & Russia's Onslaught in Syria's South". The Syrian Observer. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
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