Will Syria’s first lady stand for justice or protect the shadow of the past? asks Yvonne Ridley in an open letter to Latifa al-Daroubi

Dear Madam al-Daroubi,

Assalamu Alaikum — Peace be upon you.

You have been thrust from the shadows into the world’s most unforgiving spotlight, praised by those around you as a cultured, sophisticated and elegant woman. Your husband, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, introduced you to the world by stating proudly: “My only wife, and I love her very much.”

Your peers celebrate you as the epitome of the traditional Syrian woman; not a submissive bystander, but the firm pillar of her family, an educated mother who plans, raises children and commands respect.

However, as you step into the grand halls of power, I must ask you a question that echoes from the dark cells beneath your feet: what kind of pillar will you be for the families torn apart by your husband’s new regime?

This is not the first time that I have been minded to address a Syrian first lady. Years ago, I wrote an open letter to Asma al-Assad, condemning her silent complicity while thousands of Syrian women suffered and died in her husband’s brutal prison system. I warned her then of the heavy judgment of history. Today, she is gone, remembered only for her cowardice and her failure to speak out and try to stop the horrors of the now former regime. 

Let her downfall serve as a cautionary tale to you. Do not walk the same path of comfortable silence.

READ: Syria has sacrificed the soul of the revolution by arresting Bilal Abdul Kareem

As I write this, my friend and colleague Bilal Abdul Kareem has spent more than 200 days imprisoned without charge, trial or access to a lawyer. He is an independent American journalist who stayed in Syria for over a decade, surviving bombs and assassination attempts to tell the world the truth about the revolution against the Assad regime. He has committed no crime; he merely exercised his basic right to speak out. Today, his three wives and 11 children live in constant agony; his young children plead publicly, “We want our father.”

The Holy Qur’an commands absolute justice, even against our own interests: “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives.” (Surah An-Nisa 4:135)

How can you enjoy the luxury of the international stage while your fellow Muslim sisters see their husband kept in a dark cell, separated from his family for no reason other than that he has an opinion? How can you proudly accept the title of First Lady if your husband, the president, permits the same indefinite, lawless detentions that defined the horrific Assad era which he fought to overthrow?

You cannot claim the honour of a traditional Syrian matriarch if you remain silent while other families are systematically broken. If, as your close circle claims, your husband truly listens to you, then please use your voice to demand that Syria’s new government proves that it is better than the regimes run by the monsters of the past.

Release Bilal Abdul Kareem, or bring him before a transparent, fair court of law. Do not let your legacy be stained by the tears of 11 fatherless children. Show the world who you really are, Madam Latifa al-Daroubi.

Wassalamu alaikum.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.