QAMISHLO,— Thousands of women gathered in the northeastern Syrian main Kurdish city of Qamishlo on Monday, calling for the new Islamist rulers in Damascus to respect women’s rights and condemning Turkish-backed military campaigns in Kurdish region.
The protesters, many of whom waved the green flag of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), a Kurdish militia allied with the US-Backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), expressed their opposition to the recent shift in power in Syria.
The YPJ is considered a “terrorist” group by Turkey, which views it as linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group fighting against the Turkish government since 1984.
“We are demanding women’s rights from the new state, and women should not be excluded from these rights,” said Sawsan Hussein, a prominent women’s rights activist in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava). She also condemned Turkish attacks on the symbolic Kurdish city of Kobani, located near the Turkish border.
The YPJ is part of the Syrian Kurdish-led autonomous administration, which has governed much of northern Syria with an emphasis on equality, democracy, and environmental responsibility. The Kurdish region has enjoyed a degree of autonomy since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011.
The Kurdish groups, led by the YPG militia and supported by the U.S.-backed SDF, the de facto army of the autonomous in Syrian Kurdistan.
However, the political landscape in Syria has dramatically shifted since the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as al-Nusra Front, toppled President Bashar al-Assad’s regime two weeks ago. HTS has established a new administration that is reportedly more favorable to Turkey, further complicating the situation for the Kurdish-led regions.
The Kurdish groups, which promote socialism and feminism, now find themselves at odds with the HTS’s conservative Sunni Islamist ideology. The HTS has increasingly gained influence, causing concerns among Kurdish leaders about the potential marginalization of women and minorities in the newly established regime in Damascus.
In Syrian Kurdistan, women occupy 50% of positions in both the military and civilian sectors. They serve in military roles alongside Kurdish men, like in Israel, with many having fought and died in battles against the Islamic State and Turkish-backed Syrian mercenaries.
Thousands of Kurdish women have sacrificed their lives in the ongoing struggle for autonomy, equality, and the defense of their communities against external threats.
Tensions have already escalated between the Syrian Democratic Forces and Turkey-backed Syrian Islamist mercenaries. The so-called Syrian National Army SNA, a Turkish-supported militia, has pushed the SDF out of several key areas, including the northern city of Manbij.
Kurdish leaders have also warned of a possible Turkish offensive on Kobani, a Kurdish-majority city that has been a symbol of resistance against Turkish influence in Syria.
“There is fear that the new administration in Damascus will lean toward hardline Islamist rule, sidelining women and minorities from public life,” said Hemrin Ali, a representative of the Kurdish-led administration in northeastern Syria.
She spoke at the rally, emphasizing support for the YPJ and the preservation of women’s rights in the region.
The protests on Monday served as a reminder of the ongoing struggle for gender equality in Syria and the broader Middle East, where women’s rights are often under threat from rising Islamist factions.
Despite the challenges, many in Qamishlo remain determined to defend the gains made by Kurdish women in the years since the conflict began.
(With files from Reuters | Agencies)
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