In 2014, north-eastern Syria may have been the last place on earth one would expect to find a revolution in women's rights - but it happened with courage, bravery and sacrifice.
It was in that year that the Kurdish-controlled city of Kobani came under siege from Islamic State fighters, who were brutally sweeping through northern regions of the country.
The siege took place from September 2014 to January 2015 and IS was eventually defeated, thanks in part to the all-women combat units and female commanders on the ground.
Giving a voice to these women is New York Times best-selling author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon.
In her latest book, The Daughters of Kobani, Ms Lemmon told SBS Kurdish she wanted to capture the bravery, courage and sacrifice of these women.
She visited north-eastern Syria seven times between 2017 and 2020 in her quest to learn more about the women who handed IS its first major strategic setback. In her research, Ms Lemmon spoke to various units of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as well as US military personnel working in support of the Women’s Defence Units (YPJ).
The book jacket for, The Daughters of Kobani. Source: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
“I wanted to write a story that captured the heroism and what I saw on the ground which is an incredible story of a David versus Goliath, only David was a woman,” Ms Lemmon told SBS Kurdish.
“This is a story about a showdown in the town of Kobani that was really aimed to hand IS its first defeat.”
The author said the female fighters were on a mission to make a powerful statement; that they could not, and would not be defeated not just in war, but as a gender.
Rojda Felat, SDF commander, waves her group's flag at the iconic Al-Naim square in Raqa in 2017. Source: Getty images/AFP
“Those women handed IS its first loss and those women had 'equality' right at the centre and I wanted to capture the showdown that happened in Kobani with the Women’s Protection Unit.”
Ms Lemmon said she had the privilege of meeting some of the female fighters, describing what she witnessed as sheer courage and determination.
“I had written a book previously – Ashley’s War – about an all-women's special operations team and one of the women from that team called me from Syria and said ‘You have to come to see this. There are women who are fighting IS and not only are they fighting IS, but they are also fighting for equality'.”
She said she was shocked to hear that the women were receiving the full respect of the men they served with, as well as US forces.
Author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon. Source: Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
“I said, ‘How in the world does this project [of women’s equality], in one of the least likely places in the world, come to be on the ashes of the IS fight?’.
“These women fought room-by-room, house-by-house, and town-by-town for a half-decade and my book is an effort to explain that to the readers.”
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Ms Lemmon said after having spent so much time with the female fighters she came to understand the driving forces behind their movement.
“For them, they had absolutely decided to join this fighting force because they decided they could either live in a world where women were bought and sold and treated as property, or they could give their last breath to fighting the ideology that women had no value,” she explained.
“I was on the frontline [against] IS in the summer of 2017 and just for one day I was scared and kept thinking, this was these women’s commute to work every day.
“This is what they did every single day and it wasn’t just for their sake - it was for your sake, for my sake, so we wouldn’t live in a world in which IS had a territorial hold that would allow them to plan attacks and launch violence against Europe, the US, Australia and beyond.
“So, I think for them it was very much about being part of something greater than themselves and making sure that their lives stood against a world where women could be property. And they wanted IS to know they brought the fight to them.”
When Ms Lemmon asked the women why they formed these protection units, their responses were simple.
“They looked at me and said, 'Well, one, we were never going to let IS stand, you know, what they were doing to our women and two, we just didn't want men taking credit for our work.”
While there have been known cases of young girls fighting against IS, a UN declaration was recently signed for no one under the age of 18 to join women’s fighting groups.
I know this is an issue that has come up and there were girls who were teenagers at the time and since signed one of the UN declarations that no one under the age of 18 can be part of the fighting force.
“It's quite a complex conversation but I do know that the commanders of the Women’s Protection Units and the People’s Protection Units were both in Switzerland may be a year and a half ago signing a convention against child soldiers.”
After hundreds of hours of interviews provided by these women on the frontlines, as well as by those with intimate knowledge of their incredible exploits, Ms Lemmon said she hopes to take readers on the same powerful journey she too experienced while delving into the real lives of these women.
“We all have mothers and daughters and sisters who sacrifice for us and so when do we get to hear their stories? Really, this book is my effort to bring readers into the world of the women who stood up to the IS.”
Ms Lemmon’s book will also be adapted into a TV series after Hidden Light Productions – founded by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton - announced that it acquired the rights.
“I am so excited for the world to know this story and my responsibility is for it to reach as many people as possible,” she said.
She said while they are in the early stages of production, there is a huge enthusiasm to work with artists and creatives from the region to bring the story to life in a way that moves people.
“I want readers/viewers to see the courage, the heart, the humour, the friendship of the women whose very ordinary lives became catapulted on the global stage as they became the world’s greatest hope for stopping IS.
“The Daughters of Kobani is about protecting Kurdish culture, but also about showing the world what women can do on the battlefield.”
