WONDER WOMEN WHO FOILED ISIS
The sudden emergence of the extremist Islamist group ISIS in 2014 sent shockwaves through the Middle East. Determined to establish a caliphate governed by strict Sharia law, they expanded with astonishing speed from their base in northern Iraq to seize control of vast swathes of territory, killing all who opposed them.
Particularly horrific was the fate of the minority Yazidis, an ancient sect that ISIS regarded as devilworshippers. Men who refused to renounce their faith were executed, while their women were raped and sold into slavery.
What could women do to protect themselves? Well, they could fight back, and that is exactly what happened in the Syrian city of Kobani, where another minority, the Kurds, were caught in the crossfire between ISIS and the brutal regime of Syria’s Bashar alAssad. Kurdish women formed an armed militia, the YPJ, and fought alongside their male counterparts.
Make no mistake, they were no token presence. One seasoned American Special Forces soldier described the YPJ as ‘real warriors’, and the stories related by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon show how vital these women were to defeating ISIS.
Women like Azeema, a crack shot who began her military career as a sniper and ended up as a combat leader, insisted on leading from the front even after taking a bullet to the chest and having her legs smashed up by a roadside mine.
Or her commander Nowruz, whose tactical skills and leadership led to her being put in charge of the toughest military operations, including a daring night-time assault across the Euphrates river.
This is a story of astonishing courage and fortitude, but it comes with a sting in the tail. The Kurds have been the fall guys of the Middle East for the past century, and despite having freed themselves from ISIS, they remain pawns in a cynical game of regional and global geopolitics.
All of them, especially the women who refused to play the allotted role of helpless victim, deserve much better.