Thousands of Kurdish women are volunteering to battle against ISIS, others in Syria

Thousands of Kurdish women are volunteering to battle against ISIS, others in Syria
(Image credit: Twitter.com/AliAjeena)

There are 7,000 volunteer soldiers in the Women's Protection Unit, or YPJ, which fights alongside the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in Syria. In August, photojournalist Erin Trieb traveled there to meet these women, and gain insights into their daily life.

See more

Most of the soldiers are between the ages of 18 to 24, and unmarried. New soldiers are expected to rise at 4 a.m. and spend the day going through drills and taking classes. Recruits age 12 and up cook, do chores, and also get in some training. Their motto, "Havar," means friendship in Kurdish.

The YPJ is fighting against ISIS, the al-Nusra Front, and the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad. Kurds say that ISIS militants believe that if they are killed by a woman, they won't go into heaven, which is why members of the YPJ are feared.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

View Trieb's photographs at NBC News.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.