During her recent diplomatic visit to Damascus, images of German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock were shared by a Syrian Telegram channel, Almharar, associated with the Islamist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The channel pixelated Baerbock, rendering her unrecognizable except for her casual attire, while the Syrian news agency SANA published uncensored photos of her.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, who accompanied Baerbock, was portrayed without any pixelation next to Syria's new de facto ruler, Ahmed al-Scharaa, as Münchner Merkur noted.
Baerbock asserted that "women's rights are a measure of how free a society is," as she emphasized this principle for future European support to Syria's new leadership, according to Die Welt.
Ahmed al-Scharaa greeted Baerbock by placing his hand on his chest instead of offering a handshake. "Even when I arrived, it was clear to me that there would obviously not be ordinary handshakes here," she said, according to Die Welt. Al-Scharaa offered his hand to Barrot in the usual manner. Baerbock commented post-meeting, "We told the Islamist hosts that we disapprove of this practice."
Almharar, linked to HTS, pixelated all women present during the diplomatic meetings, aligning their publication behavior with the group’s ideologies.
Concerns extended beyond pixelation to broader apprehensions about women's rights under the new shadow government led by al-Scharaa. T-Online mentioned that the post-transition focus turns to how this emerging governance might reshape rights and freedoms, notably for women.
While the German government refrained from commenting on the matter, according to T-Online, the international diplomatic community watched keenly.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq