Bashar al-Assad has finally opened up about his wife Asma's leukaemia, but few Syrian women show sympathy, and even fewer believe her, writes Loubna Mrie.
![Market in Idlib [Hadia Al Mansour]](/sites/default/files/styles/image_156x88/public/2023-05/ROSE.jpg?h=b6212b1f&itok=7qPlJwIt)
![Syria Assad [Getty]](/sites/default/files/styles/image_156x88/public/media/images/DE73B7CA-791F-4209-BE54-0DE4A1BFB3CA.jpg?h=d1cb525d&itok=03OZgUJY "Syria Assad [Getty]")
![A demonstrator looks on as Lebanese policemen stand guard outside the Lebanese Central Bank in Beirut. [Getty]](/sites/default/files/styles/image_156x88/public/2021-06/GettyImages-1074052672.jpg?h=16013371&itok=1StrthUZ)
