Dima Moussa ( ar, ديما موسى) (born 1978) is a

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

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 )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and her family is originally from

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

. She is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. 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 Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...

. 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 Al-Hamidiyah ( ar, الحميدية, al-Hamidiyya, gr, Χαμιδιέ) is a town on the Syrian coast, about 3 km from the Lebanese border. The town was founded in a very short time on the direct orders of the Ottoman Sultan Abdülhamit ...

during the Syrian Civil War. Moussa has a degree in

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from DePaul University.

Career

Moussa is a lawyer and considered a "liberal feminist". She has worked with the Human Rights Law Institute of DePaul University, focusing on Arab women's rights. She began working with Syrian activists after the Syrian uprising in 2011 and became a member of the

Syrian opposition The Syrian opposition ( ar, المعارضة السورية ', ) is the political structure represented by the Syrian National Coalition and associated Syrian anti-Assad groups with certain territorial control as an alternative Syrian gover ...

later that year. In 2011, she was a spokesperson for the Revolutionary Council of Homs. Moussa was a founding member of the

Syrian National Council The Syrian National Council (SNC; ar, المجلس الوطني السوري, ''al- Majlis al-Waṭanī as-Sūri'', french: Conseil national syrien), sometimes known as the Syrian National Transitional Council or the National Council of Syri ...

. 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. Moussa joined the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces in October 2016, and is a founding member and member of the General Secretariat of the Syrian Women's Political Movement, established in October 2017. 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 A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...

and take action to protect civilians in

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. 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. On

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

2018, she issued an appeal to women across the world to participate in

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

s to highlight the suffering of Syrian women under the

Assad regime Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, noting the continued silence on the murder, detention, kidnapping and rape of women in Syria. Moussa was elected vice president of the

Syrian National Coalition The National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces ( ar, الائتلاف الوطني لقوى الثورة والمعارضة السورية), commonly named the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) ( ar, الائتلاف الو ...

alongside Abdel Basset Hamo and Bader Jamous in May 2018, under President

Abdurrahman Mustafa Abdurrahman Mustafa (born 1964) is a Syrian Turkmen politician who is the incumbent president of the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, the umbrella organization of the Turkmen political movements in Syria, and the political leader of the Turkmen national ...

. In June 2018, she called for international intervention after

Assad Asad ( ar, أسد), sometimes written as Assad, is an Arabic male given name literally meaning " lion". It is used in nicknames such as ''Asad Allāh'', one of the by-names for Ali ibn Abi Talib. People Among prominent people named ''Asad'', ...

put Law No. 10 in place, which aims to prevent refugees from returning to their homes, saying that it shows the government is "not serious" about engaging in transition.

Personal life

Moussa speaks Arabic, English and Assyrian.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Moussa, Dima Living people 1978 births People from Homs Syrian Christians Syrian women lawyers Syrian feminists Grainger College of Engineering alumni DePaul University College of Law alumni Syrian National Council members National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces members Women vice presidents 21st-century Syrian women politicians 21st-century Syrian politicians