"Glamorous", "cunning", "elegant" a "rose in the desert": these have all
been used to describe Asma al-Assad , the first lady of Syria.
Scroll through Asma's Instagram and you'll see pictures of her cradling small children,
helping the disabled, and visiting the ill, all while her husband's regime tortures
dissidents, bombs hospitals and wages war until entire cities turn to rubble.
Asma was once seen as a glimmer of hope in a turbulent region.
Now nearly six years into the Syrian Civil War, no one quite knows what to make of her.
So what's the story behind Syria's controversial First Lady?
Well, Asma al-Assad was born and raised in London by Syrian Parents.
She studied French and Computing at King's College, before moving to New York City to
pursue a career on Wall Street.
In 2000, Asma was 25 years old and about to begin an MFA program at Harvard when she reconnected
with Bashar al-Assad, whom she had met years earlier in London.
The couple married that year, and Asma dropped Harvard to move to Syria, where Bashar had
become president just months earlier.
Syrians were largely optimistic about the country's future in the hands of Bashar
and Asma.
Bashar's father and predecessor, President Hafez al-Assad , transformed Syria into a
one-party police state, letting him keep a tight grip on power for three decades.
Bashar and Asma were widely regarded as more modern and progressive, and many Syrians believed
that the western-educated couple would institute an era of freedom and openness.
For about a decade, Asma had largely followed through on these expectations.
As first lady she spearheaded state-run charities that funded rural development, female empowerment,
aid for the disabled and child care.
In the press, she was regarded as charming, elegant and charismatic.
However her public image took a serious blow with the onset of the Syrian Civil War.
In 2011, thousands of people across Syria began to speak out against Bashar al-Assad's
repressive regime.
Government forces went to unprecedented lengths to crush dissent, including firing into a
crowd of protesters.
That year, rebel groups formed and Syria descended into civil war.
As soon as the conflict broke out, Asma entered a period of complete silence and seclusion,
prompting questions over whether she even knew the extent of her husband's unlawful
activities.
In fact since 2011, the first lady has only made a handful of public statements, most
of which have been terse and unspecific.
In October 2016, Asma gave her first TV interview in eight years, in which she admitted to feeling
"pain and sadness" when she met those affected by the conflict.
Meanwhile, no one in the international media has hesitated to point out the glaring hypocrisy
of Asma's lifestyle.
In March 2012, leaked emails published by the Guardian showed that Asma had been spending
tens of thousands of dollars on designer clothes, jewelry, and home decor, while government
forces bombed syrian civilians and opposition forces.
A month later, the wives of British and German UN Ambassadors released a video urging Asma
to stop her husband's violent regime.
Today, more than three hundred thousand people are dead as a result of the Syrian Civil War.
Cities like Homs, where Asma's parents hailed from, are in shambles.
Meanwhile, Asma has rejected offers of asylum, and claims she is still focused on domestic
charity work.
Until this devastating conflict comes to an end, Asma al-Assad will likely continue living
in the shadow of her husband's iron-fisted regime.
The Syrian Civil War is largely a result of widespread opposition to Asma's husband,
President Bashar al-Assad.
But where are ill-feelings toward Assad coming from?
What kind of leader is he?
Find out more in this video.
As the civil war progressed, Assad continued arresting citizens and was personally implicated
in a number of war crimes by the UN, including the imprisonment and killing of his own citizens.
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