Hind Kabawat, Syrian Minister: It's hard to be the only woman, I feel lonely

'It's hard to be the only woman, I feel lonely sometimes because I’d like to have another woman colleague to talk to.’

The BBC’s Chief international correspondent, Lyse Doucet speaks to Hind Kabawat, Syria’s Minister for Social Affairs and Labour. and the only female minister in the transitional government.

She was born in India and grew up across the Middle East and Europe. Her life has been shaped by movement, exile and conflict. She studied economics in Damascus, law in Beirut, and later continued her education in the United States.

During Syria’s war, she worked abroad on diplomacy and legal reform, advising on negotiations and pushing for greater representation of women in public life. After the fall of the Assad regime and the creation of a transitional authority, she returned home to take up public office.

In this conversation, she talks about power, responsibility, and what leadership means in a country still reckoning with more than a decade of conflict.

Thank you to the Global Women team for their help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with the Colombian president Gustavo Petro, the Palestinian-American human rights lawyer Noura Erekat and Mexican actor Diego Calva. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Lyse Doucet

Producers: Lina Shaikhouni, Farhana Haider

Editor: Justine Lang

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(Image: Hind Kabavat Credit: Beyza Comert/Anadolu via Getty Images)