WarSclerotic

“ISIS is not a threat to a single nation,” one of the Kurdish female fighters told 60 Minutes. “It’s a threat to all humanity. It’s like a disease, like cancer spreading everywhere.” Another Kurdish female fighter reported, “They say if we are killed by the hand of a man, we will go to heaven but if we are killed by the hand of a woman, we will not go to heaven.” These facts prompt the Kurdish female fighters to be especially vigilant in their jobs.

One of the Kurdish women, Julie, dreamed of becoming an economist in Syrian Kurdistan, but because of the emergency situation in her country, she instead has joined the ranks of the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit: “We are not lovers of weapons. We are not lovers of fighting. We are not lovers of killing. All of us wanted to live a safe life, to complete our studies and to have a boyfriend. But now, as I said, we live in an emergency situation.”

“ISIS has come to our area and destroyed everything, damaged everything, killed the children, kidnapped the women, and made everything bad in the region,” she stressed on 60 Minutes. “We can say that we are fighting with our will, but ISIS is fighting with their weapons. I think that willpower is stronger than weapons. For us, when someone from ISIS is killed by the hand of a woman, for us, we are so proud because this woman killed an enemy of humanity. A woman has a right to save herself and protect herself.”

“My first responsibility as a female commander is to prove that women everywhere can have a will and a reason to exist,” Kurdish female commander Nasreen told 60 Minutes. “So many times our victories have been won by women. They even motivate the men to be stronger and better fighters. In every fight, the women prove their true strength and abilities. They proved that it is a lie that women cannot fight.”

She noted that she has a fear for the survival of her society and culture in the face of the ISIS threat: “We know their goal is not a humane goal. That’s why we fight hard.” ISIS is notorious for raping the women they capture, before either slaughtering them or selling them into slavery. But ISIS is not only a threat to Kurdish women. They also have beheaded westerners. Julie stressed, “What we hope from the world is that they will help us in fighting this terrorism movement because it is not only dangerous for us; it’s dangerous for the entire world.”

The 60 Minutes report noted that the US has armed Kurdish forces in Iraq, but these women who are fighting against ISIS on the front line in Syria have been given nothing. One of the Kurdish female fighters reported: “We need better weapons because bravery and determination are not always enough to win on the battlefield.” The west has been reluctant to support the PYG because it is affiliated with the PKK, which the United States and European Union considers to be a terrorist organization due to its armed struggle against the Turkish state. The PKK was responsible for a series of suicide bombings in Turkey in the past, but signed a ceasefire agreement in 2013. Turkey considers the PYG as nothing more than the Syrian branch of the PKK and has been opposed to countries offering the PYG help based on this belief. However, while the PYG considered jailed PKK head Abdullah Ocalan as its ideological leader, they insist that the PKK does not interfere with how the PYG conducts Syrian Kurdish affairs.

Commander Nasreen denies that the PYG is a terrorist organization and declares that her fighters are the best hope against ISIS: “No, I am not a terrorist. We only kill to defend human rights. We are fighting for justice. We are fighting for all humanity.” Julie stressed, “We are fighting here to save our nation; not only our nation, our society. For us, we want to save the humanity, civilization and culture of this region.” Whether or not the PKK has any say in how the PYG conducts Syrian Kurdish affairs, there is one thing that is certain. Unlike many elements of the Free Syrian Army that are backed by the Obama administration who are aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood and are now helping ISIS to defeat the Kurds, the PYG remains a secular organization that does not have an anti-western agenda.