Citing the death of a fighter who ran out of bullets and blew up herself and a group of ISIS terrorists with a grenade, the Kurdish Women Defense Units (YPJ) today called on women to unite to “make a hell” for Islamic State.
Arin Mirkan, a 20-year-old mother of two, was trying to defend Kobane from the ISIS advance Sunday when she ran out of ammunition during a gun battle outside town.
On the same day, 19-year-old Ceylan Ozalp shot herself with her last bullet rather than fall into the hands of ISIS fighters.
Ozlap told BBC last month that the women would “rather blow ourselves up than be captured by IS.”
“When they see a woman with a gun, they’re so afraid they begin to shake. They portray themselves as tough guys to the world. But when they see us with our guns they run away,” she said. “They see a woman as just a small thing. But one of our women is worth a hundred of their men.”
The YPJ said in a statement today that “the bullet fired by our women adds to their fears that they may find themselves in hell instead of heaven.”
Mirkan’s death, they said, is “the spirit of sacrifice for the freedom.”
“We will take revenge from this organization anywhere by developing our defensive systems and educating our women, for the ISIS organization cannot be defined by any terms and it is far from humanity,” the YPJ continued.
“We will avenge for those women who were sold as slaves in the markets of the ISIS organization, our vengeance will not only be bullets but by smiling faces of our women, we swear that we will make a hell for the ISIS on earth.”
The statement called on “all women” to “consciously join this struggle in the ranks of our units.”
According a Marie Claire feature profiling some of the women fighting ISIS, the YPJ numbers about 7,500 and formed in 2012. They perform the same duties as their male counterparts.
Lion is a lion; whether it is male or female -Kurdish proverb. #YPJ #Kobanê #TwitterKurds pic.twitter.com/q7Ujx1Vhzn
— SaveKOBANÊ (@serhildan27) October 8, 2014
A popular saying of #YPG #YPJ:A free woman inspires and shines her light on others, motivating them towards freedom. pic.twitter.com/KL5kR09WYG
— MiddleEastrnfeminist (@MEasternfeminst) October 8, 2014
YPJ fighter training a Kurdish woman on how to use weapons against IS. #Rojava pic.twitter.com/q9wDiDHxrX
— Jiyan (@JiyanAzadi) October 1, 2014
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