This tribal leader must have finally figured out that the Kurdish women are fierce fighters.
Kurdish tribal leader breaks taboo by accepting female fighters
In the tribal-dominated society of the Kurdish region of Iraq it is still frowned upon for women to fight. Now a Kurdish volunteer unit called the “Fire Brigade,” led by tribal leader Loqman Sharafani, plans to deploy at least 30 women on the frontlines to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) in Naweran. The war against ISIS is slowly changing gender roles in Kurdish society.
“We are supported by Sheikh Loqman to have a female team to fight with our brothers,” says 24-year-old Asiba Nawzad, a second lieutenant with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. “Normally, Kurdish tribes do not allow their women to fight, but Sheikh Loqman permits it,” she added.
Many Kurdish female fighters wanted to take revenge on ISIS for atrocities committed against hundreds of Yazidi women after capturing the city of Sinjar in August 2014. In Sinjar, some women already fight on the frontline with Peshmerga units, or with units of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Furthermore, a number of female fighters are deployed in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
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Kurdish tribal leader breaks taboo by accepting female fighters
Kurdish tribal leader breaks taboo by accepting female fighters
In the tribal-dominated society of the Kurdish region of Iraq it is still frowned upon for women to fight. Now a Kurdish volunteer unit called the “Fire Brigade,” led by tribal leader Loqman Sharafani, plans to deploy at least 30 women on the frontlines to fight the Islamic State (ISIS) in Naweran. The war against ISIS is slowly changing gender roles in Kurdish society.
“We are supported by Sheikh Loqman to have a female team to fight with our brothers,” says 24-year-old Asiba Nawzad, a second lieutenant with the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. “Normally, Kurdish tribes do not allow their women to fight, but Sheikh Loqman permits it,” she added.
Many Kurdish female fighters wanted to take revenge on ISIS for atrocities committed against hundreds of Yazidi women after capturing the city of Sinjar in August 2014. In Sinjar, some women already fight on the frontline with Peshmerga units, or with units of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Furthermore, a number of female fighters are deployed in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk.
Continue reading at:
Kurdish tribal leader breaks taboo by accepting female fighters
