War liberates Kurdish women as it oppresses others

chika ebuzor

February 29, 2016 6:50 AM

Coming from the self-proclaimed autonomous region of Rojava, wedged between the Turkish border and territory held by Islamic State, Mustafa enjoys freedoms that few women living under the militants' rule could dream of.

The Islamic veil known as Hijab

Nubohar Mustafa is proud of what her leaders and fellow activists have done for Kurdish women in northern Syria.

Polygamy is no longer tolerated, underage marriage is outlawed and violence against women addressed with strict legislation in Rojava, which has been governed by a Kurdish party since Syrian state forces withdrew from most of the area in 2012 - a year after civil war erupted across Syria.

Rojava's constitution, or "social contract", governing its some 4 million people enshrines women's rights and urges public institutions to work towards ending gender discrimination.

"While we try to empower women, a few kilometres away Daesh (Islamic State) are trying to do the opposite. We are fighting them on behalf of all the women in the world," said Mustafa, a female politician and union leader in Rojava.

"Women have active participation at all political and military levels," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Rojava's women fighters, also known as YPJ, make up 40 percent of the region's militia force and have won praise for their prowess when battling Islamic State, including the liberation of Yazidi families under siege near Sinjar in northern Iraq in 2014.

The internal police, or Asayish, has a women-only unit that deals also with sexual assault and rape. Each city in Rojava has a co-presidency that must be filled by a woman, and at least 50 percent of political offices are held by females.

Academies and foundations to further women's rights and as many as 27 centres to help women facing domestic violence or financial hardship have opened in Kurdish Syria since 2014.

"It's a revolution within a revolution," said Mustafa.

chika ebuzor