The Daughters of Kobani …
The story of all these Kurdish women fighters is one worth reading. It is a tale of women who faced death by bullets, suffered from chemical weapon attacks, endured the terror of earthquakes, snow and
By: Arif Sahar
The book The Daughters of Kobani: Women Who Fought ISIS is a narrative of resistance, rebellion, courage, and the quest for justice in northern Syria. It tells the story of the brave women of Kobani who transformed Kurdish women into the greatest hope of humanity in the fight against ISIS. The battle of the women of Kobani is one of the most inspiring and humane struggles of resistance in contemporary history.
These Kurdish women fighters created an identity and global recognition for the Kurds, a people who had been overlooked and ignored until then, turning them into a symbol of resistance and the struggle for freedom and equality. These Kurdish women played a crucial role in defending their homeland and pushing back ISIS forces during the brutal siege of Kobani in 2014.
For ISIS, Kobani became a symbol of their failure against Kurdish fighters, which is why they sent their most elite forces to battle in Kobani. In this war, the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), with the motto “Either Death or Kobani,” fought alongside the male Kurdish Defense Units.
The Daughters of Kobani is the story of thousands of Kurdish women fighters. However, the stories of Nowruz (commander), Azimeh (sniper), Rozhda (a courageous and tactical soldier who later becomes a brave and capable commander), and Zanarin (a young woman and commander of a fifty-person unit) are particularly prominent.
Here, I will briefly recount the story of Azimeh, the sniper. Azimeh was one of the pillars of the Kobani resistance who devastated ISIS forces and became both a nightmare and a prime target for them.
During one of her encounters with ISIS forces in the battle of Kobani, Azimeh was shot from very close range. The bullet pierced her right arm. The proximity was so close that Azimeh could clearly see the face of the ISIS fighter: bald, dirty, with a long beard – a detail she later remembered well. Despite her severe injury, Azimeh’s arm was surgically treated after much insistence from doctors. However, Azimeh, determined and against the doctors’ advice, left the hospital and returned to her comrades at the frontline.
Twenty days after Azimeh’s surgery, Kobani was liberated. At the celebration of the city’s liberation, Azimeh stood, with her injured arm, alongside five male commanders, in front of the yellow flag of the People’s Defense Units (YPG), officially declaring the end of the Kobani siege and the defeat of ISIS in the city. During her speech, Azimeh congratulated the victory over ISIS and honored the fallen. She promised that she and her comrades would continue the fight they had begun in Kobani until the complete destruction of ISIS across Syria.
After the liberation of Kobani, Azimeh and her comrades moved to the city of Hasakah, an important city in northeastern Syria, to continue the fight against ISIS. There, Azimeh’s armored vehicle was hit by an ISIS mine, severely injuring her legs and face, requiring further surgeries. Following this, Azimeh was transferred from the frontline to the rear by order of Nowruz, despite her will, and contributed to managing logistics and administrative tasks in the war effort.
The story of all these Kurdish women fighters is one worth reading. It is a tale of women who faced death by bullets, suffered from chemical weapon attacks, endured the terror of earthquakes, snow, winds, and storms, and feared the black-clad, dark-hearted terrorists—but did not die from the fear of ISIS.
The Women’s Defense Units consisted of hundreds of women. In a statement issued on the day of their formation, the Kurdish Women’s Defense Units declared: “The purpose of establishing this group is to create a democratic society where women and men are equal, and its goal is to prevent the discrimination, abuse, and torture of women around the world, not just in Kurdish areas.” The Women’s Defense Units were officially formed on April 4, 2013, and went on to fight against ISIS and other armed groups like the al-Nusra Front.
The Daughters of Kobani ensured that the name Kobani would forever be etched in history. These Kurdish women fighters became symbols of power and resistance against ignorance and terror. The Daughters of Kobani is full of tales of motivation, courage, and defiance, as well as fear, defeat, blood, ashes, killing, and being killed.
The Daughters of Kobani is one of the most thrilling and impactful books I have read recently. Among the Christmas and New Year’s Eve gifts this year, I received a copy of The Daughters of Kobani and presented it to my son, Samir.
