When Women Fight ISIS

As cited in the truly excellent story in this past week's Times Magazine, there is a schism between two factions within the Iraqi Kurds.

There seems to have been some research done about PTSD--particularly among combat veterans and rape victims, among others. The Yazidi women who saw their male family members killed and they themselves were taken prisoner, perhaps have endured both.

The research seems to be in favor of treating those with P{TSD as victims--theu allowing them to focus inward--but, to help them return to th4eir traditional way of life--focused outward.

Just think, these Yazidi women have had to endure witnessing horrible murders, endure horrendous imprisonment and worse, and then have to deal with the Barzinni faction within the Iraqi Kurds.

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We should not be thinking in terms of "either - or". We need women to fight against war, and women to fight the war. Both.

A much better solution is to realize that the purpose of fighting the war is to get out of the war, and hopefully not have any further wars.

So, I suggest that women who do the extremely hard work of political, structural, and conciliatory work for preventing wars connect with the women who are doing the equally hard work of fighting them.

Then the fighters will know that they are not fighting an endless war lasting generations. Their children, born into strife, will know that a light exists at the end of the tunnel. And, the women doing the conciliatory work will know that they are having real impact.

While I admire these women for their courage and wish them all success and happy futures, I want to call this write-up for what it is - a sad propaganda piece using these women as a gimmick. Those who take umbrage, imagine an equivalent writeup with identical pictures saying these women are fighting to take their country back from western imperialists and how people should send "a generous amount of military aid" to the man leading their government or organization?

Put bluntly, people with guns and grenade launchers are not going to solve this problem. They ARE the problem. They are pawns in a game of powerful interests, and readers who fall for this kind of propaganda are also being played as pawns. Anyone who considers themselves honest and rational, I invite you to take a month off reading these "news"media, and just think back to what has been going on in the Middle East since 2001 and our "War on Terror". Does not matter if you are pro-military or pro-peace, as long as you are pro-reason it will work.

Whatever we are doing has failed - other than killing Bin Laden, everything has been wrong. Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Maliki, Egypt, Syria, Karzai, Musharraf, on and on. Sending more money and weapons is not going to push us closer to a solution, it will only push us further into tragedy and evil.

A large contingent of "experts" have dig us into this hole to their profit. They'll never say "My Bad" and show us a way out. They will keep on it. Until we say enough.

Enough!!!

Woman through the ages have always fought to protect their families. These women however are organized and in leadership roles.
I wish them well and hope they get the support they need from our nation.

If it wasn't so sad and tragic and the genocide wasn't so horrific, it would almost be funny that in the New York Times there is a picture of a "good gal with a gun"

I can't wait for the Gun Grabbing Left Wing Fringe to tell that women in the picture why she should not have the right to self defense.

In my meager and incomplete reading of American history, one view of the genesis of American femininism is life on the frontier. Women fought to defend their families, sometimes after the men had been killed by renegade whites and indians defending their territory. And, sometimes, alongside the men, fighting as equals, perhaps because equality was the best solution. The warrior activity of Kurdish women is a justifiable paradoxical response to ISIS's subjugation and ensalvement of women.

YAZIDI WOMEN & CHILDREN who were captured and sold as sex slaves would benefit from being able to fight those who had abused them. They will serve as an example of how to heal from horrible abuse to show courage and strength.

I think these women are remarkable but given the misogynistic world they grew up in and the horrible threat of ISIS I am not surprised that they are fighting with arms for peace, security and justice now and in the future. I am reminded of the Irish women who fought in the Easter Rising that is celebrating it's 100th Anniversary this year. The Kurds have a very strong and resilient sense of their identity that I think will win out in the end as it did with the Irish.

Yes! All females should learn self-defense and how to fight, because we live in the real, not ideal, world. It's time we women stopped producing children who are fodder for male war games which destroy them. Passivity only begets victimization.

Stong. tough armed women who, with their carbines, humiliate each Islamist they wound or kill. My one question is on American feminists who used to say "Sisterhood is powerful.". Remember that? I wonder where the cutting edge academic and politically progressive feminists are in the fight of these women? Surely, Western feminists would approve of eliminating the misogynistic Islamist males ----- wouldn't they? I haven't heard a peep yet. Just askin'.

Opposing war is great...these women don't have that luxury. Oppose it from where...underneath a gang of ISIS thugs? The homes they no longer have? "Female guerrillas are meant to be seen as exemplars who show that female leadership is crucial in every sphere of society." Once they achieve that, perhaps they will be able to oppose (and even help, prevent) war.

Disappointing to read American war mongering. The American support of PKK/YPG to fight the war started illegally by the Americans is what is causing the war to continue in Syria. Glorifying the plight of women caught in between isis and the Kurdish terrorists is bizzare and inhumane.

These women are a very tough and devoted bunch. Every bit as talented and committed as their male counterparts. Women will defend their families just as vociferously as any man. I hope this changes the way women will be treated in their communities.

If any group has the right to determine their course of action against the perpetrators of their suffering, these women do. God protect them and give them success in their cause. If the world is not able or willing to protect their safety and their interests, then let the world get out of their way.

After reading the absolutely fantastic reporting in the Times Magazine this weekend offering a historical and present day summary of the middle east, it strikes me how easy life is here, and how hard and awful it is there. Just to top off the horror is a picture on the front page today of the toddler found in the Aleppo rubble. My biggest concern this afternoon is whether to make rice with dinner or potatoes. What about you?
I pray for this entire region, every single square inch, every man, woman and child.

This might sound sexist or whatever, but seeing these women fighting ISIS is about the most heroic thing I have ever seen.

It makes me feel seriously ashamed that these women are fighting our battles for us against ISIS.

I know the politics there are complex, but it seems to me we should be doing everything we can to help them.

Many fascinating elements in this account and among the most appealing and encouraging are those about Rojava's autonomous democracy and mandates for participation of women in governance.

I follow as well as possible what is going on in the various parts of Kurdistan in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria but this is extraordinarily difficult because of the various factions and the relationship with Turkey in particular.

My Kurdish friends from Iran, Iraq, and Syria are strong and wonderful people but since all their discussions of politics on Facebook are carried out in one or more Kurdish dialects it is impossible for me to really know what my friends are thinking. Many of the women are truly strong individuals who have done well here and perhaps show why women can be - not always - taken very seriously by Kurdish men in some settings.

If only there had been a Kurdistan from the beginning!

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Dual citizen US SE

Now these are the troops that the US should be supporting with arms and finances. These are people with a real reason to fight and kill, not for power or riches; but to save themselves and others.

Perhaps the West could finally do something good in this mess and offer to relocate the entire Yazidi population. A peaceful and relatively small population like the Yazidis could easily find a safe haven somewhere in the large empty spaces of USA or Canada, where they could rebuild their lives while gradually integrating into western society, while maintaining their cultural heritage.

the US should have trained a cadre of burka clad fighters who could mix in with the population their weapons concealed beneath the layers of clothing. they could shoot unsuspecting Taliban with their silenced concealed weapons and blend back into the crowd.

We should stop giving aid to tribal warlords.

And we should stop fighting offensive war against groups that have not attacked us.

And we should go on offensive wars against groups that have attacked us or sponsored attacks through their proxies, such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.

I am all for helping the Yazidi women and helping "the American government listen to its own ideas about gender equality, democracy and pluralism."
This is not what has been happening in the region unfortunately. Some of the "generous amount of military aid" flowing into the area has been going to radical Sunni Islamic terrorists and other unsavory characters. Just supplying military aid is not the answer. The US government, the biggest arms dealer on the planet, should stop supplying anybody with weapons and demand the same of its allies. A comprehensive new strategy is needed.
Furthermore, feminism is not the solve-all solution for military conflicts, just look at Queen Mary I of England, "Bloody Mary". Women can be just as cruel and inhuman as men. If anything women should try to instill feminism in their children, male and female, maybe that will help to prevent conflicts in the future.

What you're describing as a "global" feminist attitude is really that of white women, who don't suffer real problems and thus can afford the luxury of talking about niceness.

That aside, your prescription for the Yazidi's is hopelessly naive. Democracy and equality are the bane of civilized societies. They don't not make countries, they are excesses purchased after the foundation. If the Yazidi wish to have their own state, then they need to do it the same way every country has. Through social hierarchy, capitalism, and ethnic nationalism.

It is about time to recognize the fact that women are not inferior to men in almost any field.

Women have superb instinct in taking care of young ones and to protect them from all security risks, both internal and external. They would rather not have wars but if one is imposed, they are a lot scrappier and would defeat the enemy while not burning the earth down.

My hats off to them for standing up to ISIS, the Kurds, and others who gave up on them to be abused by ISIS. It is a shame for all men who claim to be the protectors of women and do not want them to go to school, fend for themselves, and stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Kalash tribes of North West Pakistan’s women control their own lives and have decision making powers in various fields including selecting a partner for marriage. Historically there have been very few wars originated by this tribe although Taliban are trying to eliminate them.

It is about time for them to learn from their sisters of Sinjar and organize to eradicate this Saudi/Wahhabi evil from their areas too.

I admire the women who have taken up arms to defend their lives and the lives of their families and other loved ones in war-torn areas but more guns and destruction are not the answer to stopping war.

American entertainment now features guns in the hands of women in nearly every new television program and movie as if women must become more like men to protect themselves. NO. Women must step up and take one-half the positions of power in every segment of society to balance the conversation and actions of governments to PREVENT fighting and war from being the top choice to solve problems. There IS a better way to live.

" ... the solution to women’s victimization in wartime is, first, to oppose war and, second, to make sure women are at the negotiating table when wars end."

Oh, I'm sure you mean Margaret Thatcher, Hillary Clinton, Marine Le Pen, ......