The decision by Douma City Council in the Damascus countryside prohibits “the groom entering women’s celebrations in the halls of Douma city”, according to a copy of the order published by the council.

It means that even the groom himself cannot enter the women’s section of a wedding celebration.

In socially conservative parts of Syria, weddings are usually segregated by gender. However at the end of the women’s party the groom usually enters to meet the bride and take her home.