At the second meeting of our closed-session series, The Platform Talks, held on April 25, we hosted Syrian researcher Kinda Hawasli. In this session, competent academics, researchers, and graduate students in the field had the opportunity to participate in the discussion with their questions and comments on Syria. Speaker Kinda Hawasli highlighted the significant changes that have occurred in Syria's socio-political structure following the success of the revolution.

Stating that Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in Palestine and the withdrawal of Russian and Iranian forces from the region weakened the Assad regime's military capacity, Hawasli expressed that the resulting power vacuum allowed Idlib-based opposition forces and the Free Syrian Army to advance rapidly and reach Damascus in just a few days.

Responding to questions regarding Syrian women, Hawasli noted that while Syrian women living abroad are actively and competently involved in civil society and politics, women inside the country focus more on grassroots civil society work, adding that political leadership for these women is still seen as a long-term goal. Touching upon the issue of refugee returns, Hawasli emphasized that she expects a large wave of returns from Türkiye to Syria; however, she stressed that the housing problem and differences in the education system will create serious challenges.