After fighting ISIS, Kurdish women fighters search for a place in Syria's new order - analysis

More than 1,500 Kurdish women fighters who battled ISIS are now seeking a place in Syria’s new security institutions, but their demand to remain together as a women’s unit has met resistance.

YPJ commander Nowruz Ahmed said Syrian officials rejected the group’s proposal to enter the army as an independent brigade or battalion. The YPJ is instead discussing a possible role within the Interior Ministry’s special operations forces. Ahmed said the group had asked whether its fighters could be incorporated as a single force and expected a response in the coming days.

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We were aiming to join the army, because our forces have experience and expertise that would enable them to protect themselves in an organized way in the form of an independent brigade or battalion.

“We were aiming to join the army, because our forces have experience and expertise that would enable them to protect themselves in an organized way in the form of an independent brigade or battalion,” Ahmed told Reuters.

The dispute goes beyond employment in the new state security system. YPJ leaders want their members to remain together as an organized women’s formation, rather than being divided among different units or assigned individually across Syria.

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When we hear that the men will be integrated into the army while we are told there is no place for us, it is natural for us to feel excluded.

“When we hear that the men will be integrated into the army while we are told there is no place for us, it is natural for us to feel excluded,” fighter Hevrin Jwan told The Media Line, using a name chosen to protect her identity. “We did not carry weapons for a short period. We spent years fighting and training, and we have military experience that we do not believe can simply be ignored,” she said.

The YPJ formed during Syria’s civil war and fought alongside the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in campaigns that drove ISIS from large parts of northern and eastern Syria. Its all-women ranks became internationally recognized during that fight. The group’s wartime role now clashes with Damascus’ effort to bring armed formations under unified state command. After an integration agreement, SDF military and security personnel were to enter the Defense and Interior ministries individually following security vetting. SDF commander Mazloum Abdi later announced that the force had ended its mission as an independent military organization.

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We did not carry weapons for a short period. We spent years fighting and training, and we have military experience that we do not believe can simply be ignored.