Mick Hartley

Remember the astonishingly brave Kurdish women who were at the forefront of the battle against Islamic State? They haven’t gone away. From the Telegraph:

An all-female Kurdish militia that led the fight against Islamic State (IS) is refusing to lay down its arms against pro-government forces in Syria.

The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), which numbered 24,000 at the peak of its war against IS, has vowed to keep fighting despite a deal between the Kurds and forces loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

The YPJ’s struggle is more than territorial, and signifies a broader battle for Kurdish autonomy and women’s rights, they said.

Ruksen Mohammed, a spokeswoman for the YPJ, told The Telegraph in the de facto Kurdish capital Qamishli: “As a woman, why did I pick up a weapon?

“Because I see my society, my autonomy, my identity are under threat. Maybe I have a father, brothers, but I have to protect myself. Nobody else can do it for me.”

Ms Mohammed said: “Our commanders and soldiers have played the largest role, in the war against IS, in the war against al-Nusra, on all frontlines. So we can’t accept an armed force without women.”

By contrast, Mr al-Sharaa’s government is ideologically opposed to women’s participation in the military, public and political life. It appears to be anticipating a more total transfer of power, with ethnic Kurds joining Damascus’s central armed forces on an individual basis.

In tense scenes on Monday, small numbers of Syrian government personnel entered the autonomous region. Shots were fired as Kurdish security forces clashed with pro-government groups, and members of the government convoy displayed the single-finger salute often associated with IS.

For now, members of the all-female fighting force continue to hold frontline positions in the tense stand-off with Mr al-Sharaa’s forces; patrol the streets of Kurdish cities, and secure IS detention facilities, including the camp home of former British schoolgirl Shamima Begum.…

She described Mr al-Sharaa’s forces as an “existential” threat to the Kurdish women, who have not only established all-female fighting forces, but also sought to establish unique all-female political and civil society institutions throughout northern Syria.

They’re fighting on their own. No one is going to come and help them…