Most of us have heard about ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) but most of us haven't heard about the powerful group of women training and fighting against it. This group is the YPJ, or the "Women's Protection Unit." YPJ is filled with 7,000-10,000 girls ages 18-25, but sometimes even younger, and they're filled with rage and the passion to protect their families. These women stay in groups, train together, and then are sent off to defend their human rights against ISIS.
There's a legend in this culture that if you are to be shot and killed by a woman, you will go to "straight to hell." This myth has put these Kurdish women in a state of power, and they are feared by ISIS members. 18 year-old Saria Zilan from Syria says: "I fought with ISIS in Serikani. I captured one of them and wanted to kill him, but my comrades did not let me. He kept staring at the ground and would not look at me, because he said it was forbidden by his religion to look at a woman." The YPJ has used this to their advantage, and have trained long and hard to end this cultural issue.
In "Her War: Women vs. ISIS", a documentary about a group of these girls, women share their stories about how they got to join, why they join, and depicts some of their training and exercise. The women are disciplined, but they also enjoy what they are doing. They are filled with empowerment, and are promoting the participation of women in wars as soldiers and fighters. There are girls as young as 16, who have the blessing of their parents, to fight for their safety. This group of girls and women often join because they don't want to sit by and live underneath the power of a man, so rise up and take control of their own lives.
The YPJ is being praised by feminists for confronting traditional gender roles and redefining the role of women in conflict in their culture. Erin Trieb says, “the YPJ is in itself a feminist movement, even if it is not their main mission…they want ‘equality’ between women and men, and a part of why they joined was to develop and advance the perceptions about women in their culture. They can be strong and be leaders." Many of these fighters are battling the misconceptions about women and the prevalent male dominance in their cultures, and the men here are afraid. Of being killed, or sometimes even looked at by these women. They're destroying every stereotype in the book.
These empowered women are breaking down the walls of their culture and making it a better place for not only women, but everyone. As they take their stand, women in their cultures and influenced to take a stand too to protect their families and change the world for women forever.
