Female U.S. Soldiers assigned to 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, pose for a photograph with women of the local populace during an International Women’s Day Festival in Northeast Syria on March 8, 2022. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. William Gore) Every year, International Women’s Day highlights the progress women haveContinue Reading
One year ago, the armies of Hay’at Tahrir Al Sham entered Damascus with very little resistance from the military of the former regime. Then the news came down – Assad had fled Syria. Everyday Syrians flooded into Assad’s palace and into the streets in celebration. I felt a unique kindContinue Reading
Today marks the international day of the elimination of violence against women. This is a special day for us in Northeast Syria. In less than a decade, we have gone from living under the horrors of ISIS rule to building a functioning system of self-governance in which women and menContinue Reading
Nearly a year after the collapse of the Assad regime, and over six months since the much-lauded March 10 Agreement signed between Syrian Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa and Syrian Democratic Forces General Commander Mazloum Abdi, debate continues regarding the future of Syrian governance, and tensions continue to rise following violenceContinue Reading
By October of 2015, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) were formed as a multi-ethnic coalition of Arabs, Kurds, and Syriacs, united by their belief in a democratic Syria, and the necessity of defeating ISIS.Continue Reading
As the conflict has gone on, and our system has grown and matured, women have gotten more experience, and men’s opinions have shifted. Women like Ilham Ahmed and Hevrin Khalef have shown that it is possible for women in Syria to be at the forefront of political change.Continue Reading
It is more important than ever to continue support through training, equipment, stipends, security infrastructure, and logistics.Continue Reading
Recent days have seen a dramatic escalation in Turkey’s aggression against North and East Syria with a series of heavy airstrikes across the region targeting civilian infrastructure including electrical facilities, fuel depots, factories, food and water infrastructure, and even a hospital. These attacks have resulted in the deaths and injuriesContinue Reading
On this day, International Womens Day, we celebrate and congratulate all of the women who have stepped forward, raised their voices, and called out for their rights to be protected. Throughout the world, on this day, women are marching for their freedom and their rights. Women’s rights are human rights,Continue Reading
They say that all that is required for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing. Will the world act to prevent another unprovoked military invasion of US allied territory in Syria? Turkey is threatening a large-scale armed invasion into North and East Syria, a region I callContinue Reading
ISIS is still international, and as such the ISIS issue remains international. So long as the al-Hawl detainee camp and other facilities housing ISIS detainees exist, ISIS will continue to exist. The United Nations Special Representative for Iraq Jeanine Hennis visited North and East Syria’s infamous al-Hawl Camp as partContinue Reading
People must be allowed to return to their own homes, not homes owned by other Syrians who are themselves internally or externally displaced. Demographic change that amounts to ethnic cleansing will only exacerbate the sectarian nature of the conflict and lead to further issues.Continue Reading
Since the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February, the headlines have been dominated by images of war-torn Ukrainian cities, burnt out tanks, and cruise missile strikes. A major European war for the first time since the Second World War has shocked the world. However, the effectsContinue Reading
ISIS will not be defeated by force of arms alone. While the efforts to dismantle ISIS cells must continue, the issues of accountability and economic crisis must be addressed as well.Continue Reading
Let us hope that ISIS members do not succeed in a large-scale prison break, which could lead to more atrocities in the Middle East, the West, Europe – or even the United States.Continue Reading
If Turkey left Afrin, it would be back in the good democratic hands of North and East Syria, and the region could again be home to an inspiring flourishing of a new type of democratic culture in the Middle East.Continue Reading
Our people are ready to do the work of reconstruction. But first, we need the skies free of bombs and drones, so that we can see the sun rise on a stable, secure, prosperous Syria.Continue Reading
What we heard from US officials was hopeful. They know that the partnership between the United States and our region should be protected and supported.Continue Reading
If stabilization and development assistance were taken more seriously, we would be well positioned to prevent another ISIS resurgence in the region formerly claimed by ISIS as their “caliphate.”Continue Reading
When everyday people do not even have water to drink, farmers do not have water for their fields. Wheat crops are failing.Continue Reading
Authoritarian governments seek to silence critics and jail the opposition. Democracies protect the human right to free speech.Continue Reading
Turkey seeks to make it impossible for the Kurdish people to return to their homes by settling new people in the region. When will it become clear to the international community that this is exactly what genocide looks like?Continue Reading
One boy stops and speaks to the reporter directly. He appears to be about seven years old. “When I grow up, I will behead you,” he says. Why? Because she is a woman who does not follow ISIS ideology.Continue Reading
Erdogan supports violence against women in Turkey, women in Syria, Kurds in Afrin, and elsewhere. Will the United States shore up its principles, and match words with action?Continue Reading
There are many threads, colors, and materials necessary to create the breathtaking pattern of our society. The region of North and East Syria is a part of the tapestry.Continue Reading
This International Women’s Day, we will celebrate nearly 10 years of resistance and success that no enemy could destroy. We will continue to build our women’s revolution, and hope that we can be a model for women’s inclusion in the future of Syria and the Middle East.Continue Reading
2021 is the year that the people of North and East Syria are calling upon the international community for inclusion in talks on the future of Syria. We ask to be recognized as a key player in the solution to the Syrian crisis.Continue Reading
Little is known about the wellbeing of its 240,000 people. Shehba is in peril, and the international community is not paying attention.Continue Reading
In Syria, the SDF has played the lead role as a reliable and effective partner for the United States in their war against ISIS and Islamic extremism.Continue Reading
The radical inclusion of our co-leadership model is the step that the women of our region needed. No matter what happens to our model, we will endure as an inspiration and an example of what happens when women claim their power.Continue Reading
Human rights violations are committed each day. Our people live in fear. The bombs and the violence never stopped. “Ceasefire” seems like nothing more than an empty word, a word that means nothing to Turkey.Continue Reading
Before Turkey and Turkish-backed militias commit even more war crimes and human rights atrocities, uproot our communities, and cause our culture to go extinct, we must have meaningful action from the global community.Continue Reading
By Sinam Sherkany Mohamad Water is the source of life. To North and East Syria, there is no source of water more vital than the Euphrates river. The Euphrates river has been used to power critical hydroelectric dams, irrigate farmland, provide transportation, maintain the many ecosystems of the region, andContinue Reading
The women’s movement in North and East Syria works every day to fight all of the forms of violence that women and girls face. Continue Reading
The principles that the American people remember on Independence Day are the same principles that we have fought for — democracy, freedom, and dignity.Continue Reading
Those who kidnap and torture the women of Syria today should not be allowed to call for support at the UN tomorrow.Continue Reading
We congratulate you on the blessed Eid Al-Fitr and bless your sacrifices, hoping that we will achieve equality in a peaceful Syria.Continue Reading
We call upon the international parties to show solidarity with us in order for our people return to their homes, for the occupier to leave our lands…Continue Reading
The women’s movement of North and East Syria is an example to the world.Continue Reading
The social contract of the Syrian Democratic Council guarantees religious freedom.Continue Reading
We are fighting for democracy and justice against the greatest evils of our time.Continue Reading
We hope that the international community will end its silence on the Turkish occupation of Afrin.Continue Reading
The people of our region do not work together because of fear, threats, or any other external factor, but rather because of a shared dream of peace, stability and coexistence.Continue Reading
Women are often the peacemakers — not the makers — of war. So the women of Northeast Syria have been tireless participants, working toward democracy. They see their participation in the struggle for democracy as a key to their liberation.Continue Reading
Our international attention has turned away from ISIS as a threat. But this is premature.Continue Reading