Fact Check: Is the woman in burqa really the wife of Syria’s new leader? Know the whole truth of the picture

New Delhi: After the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria, now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed al-Sharaa is the commander-in-chief of the new government. To ensure that basic services like electricity, water, sewage and internet run smoothly in the country, Mohammed al-Bashir has also been appointed as acting Prime Minister till March 1. But, meanwhile, a picture of Ahmed Al-Shara is going viral on social media, in which a woman in a burqa standing with him/her is being described as his/her wife. In this viral picture, people are raising questions as to where the Syrian Former President Bashar al-Assad’s wife had modern ideas, whereas now the country’s First Lady herself lives in a burqa. In such a situation, this picture is being made viral by linking it to the future of Syrian women. When the Vigilant team investigated this picture, it came to light that its truth was something else.

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What is the claim on social media?

A person named Jitendra Pratap Singh, while posting this viral picture of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with his/her wife on his/her X account, has written, ‘Asma al-Assad, wife of fugitive Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. , has been known for her progressive and liberal image in her public life. She often appeared at public events without a hijab or burqa, which was considered a symbol of women’s freedom and empowerment in Syria.’

In his/her post he/she further wrote, ‘Now when the people of Syria, especially the women, saw the picture of their new first lady yesterday, the women of Syria are in fear that in the future their condition will also be like that of Afghanistan.’ See post-

Similarly, the X handle named Hassan of Alamut posted this picture and wrote, ‘President and First Lady of #FreeSyria’. The handle Abu Ali posted the picture along with the caption: ‘Syria’s first lady, wife of Abu Muhammad al-Julani. She was appointed as a female protocol officer at the Republican Palace. See these two tweets-

What is the whole truth of the picture?

To find out the authenticity of this picture, when we searched it on Google reverse image, we found links of some X handles. After investigating these links, it was found that this woman standing with Ahmed Al-Shara is not his/her wife. The name of this woman is Ala Mustafa Ali and she is a poet.

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On January 16, 2025, Ahmed al-Shara met a delegation of Syrian writers and poets and this photo was taken during that time. The photos were posted from the official X handles of Syrian Arab news agency SANA and the Free Syria News Network. Both these X handles give moment-to-moment information about all the events happening in Syria. See the tweets of both these handles-

Photo of the woman during the meeting-

conclusion

While sharing a picture on social media, it is being claimed that the woman in burqa standing with Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Shara is his/her wife. During investigation by the alert team, this claim was found to be misleading. The woman is a Syrian poet and her name is Alaa Mustafa Ali.