As the offensive to capture ISIS’s de facto capital of Raqqa continues in Syria, hundreds of Kurdish women are taking part in the fighting. For 23-year-old Kaziwar, the assault is an opportunity to avenge the terror’s group mistreatment of women.
“Our taking part in the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) is revenge for the women who were kidnapped in Sinjar (in Iraq) and sold (as sex slaves) in markets,” declared Kaziwar. Roughly 3,200 Yazidi women, members of the minority group native to the Sinjar area, are believed to remain enslaved by ISIS.
Perhaps the best part of being women soldier, Kaziwar continues, is that ISIS militants “feel shame at the idea of being killed by a woman, something which they regard as ‘haram’ (forbidden).
“When they hear our voices, they get very scared, whereas we at the front, we break out into ‘youyous’ (ululate) every time we advance,” said Kaziwar.
Rojda Felat, 38, a local commander in the YPJ, says that she and the other women are proud to contradict male stereotypes about what women are capable of. “Often, in military matters, people look down on women with condescension, claiming we’re too delicate, that we wouldn’t dare carry a knife or a gun,” said Felat. “But you can see for yourself that in the YPJ we can operate a dushka, we know how to use mortars and we can conduct demining operations,” she added, smiling. Cont.
Story from - New York Times/Yahoo News
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