Syrian Women Political Leaders Randa Kassis is a Franco-Syrian politician, journalist, and anthropologist. In 2012, she founded the Movement for a Pluralistic Society, which she has led since its establishment. She was also a member of the Syrian National Council from 2011 until her expulsion in 2012. In addition, Kassis served as chair of the Coalition of Secular and Democratic Syrians, an alliance established outside the Syrian National Council in 2011 to bring together political groups opposed to Bashar al-Assad’s government.