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Geopolitics

Kurdish Women Fighters Help Halt ISIS In Syria

As Islamic terrorists press forward in Syria, female fighters and commanders now make up a third of Kurdish forces. "Women can fight better than men," one says.

Kurdish women training to be fighters.
Kurdish women training to be fighters.
Ahmad Khalil and Karen Leigh

AL-HASAKAH — Ruwayda, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party's (PYD) commander for its first all-female brigade, oversaw 53 fighters to help the Free Syrian Army stop President Bashar al-Assad's forces from entering Aleppo's Kurdish neighborhoods.

After holding off the regime, she and her brigade returned to their home base, the predominantly Kurdish northern city of Afrin, where they then focused their efforts on halting the advance of Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS terrorists.

"I believe in a greater cause, which is protecting our families and our cities from the extremists' brutality and dark ideas," she says. "I read Nietzsche and Marx, which they don't accept. They don't accept having women in leadership positions. They want us to cover ourselves and become housewives to attend to their needs only. They think we have no right to talk and control our lives."

Kurdish women, regarded as some of the most liberal in the region, have a decades-long history of fighting. Many have fought with the internationally recognized terror organization Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that works with the Kurdish People's Protection Units in southern Turkey.

Now, Ruwayda says, jihadists' repression of women has led many Kurdish to pick up arms, and that about 30% of the People's Protection Units — the armed wing of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party — is now female.

Britan Derek, 33, a People's Protection Unit commander in Al-Hasakah (another Kurdish-majority city in the north that is threatened by ISIS, because of gains it made during a June takeover of Mosul) has been marching steadily north and east.

"Women can fight better than men," she says. "We remain calm and steadfast. We are usually snipers, or on the fighting fronts. Women don't have much to lose in battle. Men dream of starting a family, or returning to their families. Whereas women who have chosen this path do so willingly. They have no other purpose."

But even among more liberal Kurdish families, daughters must struggle to convince their parents to let them join the fight. Some are just teenagers.

"I quit studying Kurdish and joined training camps in Dirbasiyyah," adds Derek's friend Ameena, 19. "My parents tried to stop me, but they couldn't. My mother didn't talk to me for six months after I joined, but we are back to normal now."

After beginning her studies at a traditional Kurdish language school in Al-Hasakah, Ameena "joined Kurdish training camps, supervised by men and women who came from Turkey, and who have been fighters for decades," says her father, Mohammed.

"I tried to stop Ameena by all means, but I couldn't. Her decision was final. We are born in a liberated society that respects women and their decisions. I never imagined my daughter's decision would be to be a fighter, but I've become very proud of her. She is braver than I am, and stronger than her brothers. When she comes to visit us, all family friends come to take pictures with her."

Names of those quoted in this story have been changed for their protection.

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Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

food / travel

Bogus Honey, Remixed Olive Oil: How Fraudulent Foods Spread Around The World

What you have in your plate isn't always what you think it is. As food counterfeiting increases in the food industry and in our daily lives, some products are more likely to be "fake", and it's up to consumers to be careful.

Image of honey

Honey

Arwin Neil Baichoo / Unsplash
Marine Béguin

All that glitters isn't gold – and all that looks yummy isn't necessarily the real deal.

Food fraud or food counterfeiting is a growing concern in the food industry. The practice of substituting or adulterating food products for cheaper, lower quality or even harmful ingredients not only deceives consumers but can pose serious health risks.

Here's an international look at some of the most widespread fake foods – from faux olive oil to counterfeit seafood and even fraudulent honey.

Keep reading...Show less

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