“Lady Assad”, a well-liked figure on Facebook

SMN No. 7, August 4, 2010

Facebook remains officially blocked in Syria for “security reasons”, but this doesn’t prevent the country’s first lady from being one of the most popular Syrian figures on the social utility network.

It remains unclear who created the page that appears as Asma Al-Assad’s personal page, but there’s little doubt about its attraction. It includes 2,742 friends, contains regularly updated photos of her at various political and social occasions. Always showing a beaming smile in her photos, she is seen hugging children or accompanying her husband on an official visit or ceremony.

Most comments on these photos by Assad’s many Syrian fans stress on her elegance and her choice of simple but chic, western attire. From Syrian expatriated parents, Assad was born in London in 1975 and was raised in England where she “graduated with a Bachelor of Science first class honors degree in Computer Science and a Diploma in French Literature,” according to her page.

The page also says that she speaks three languages and was married to the Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in 2000. It added that the first lady had supported issues related to “rural development, child care, and disadvantaged children, information and communications technology and women empowerment.”

It could not be determined whether the Facebbok page was actually created by Assad. One of the friends asked whether Assad was really behind the page. Others said that the page was made by a group of fans.

It is noteworthy that Facebook has been banned in November 2007 after officials said that it was used for communication between Israelis and Syrians. Despite the ban many Syrians find ways to log into the site.