Kurdistan
by Rishi Iyengar
by Maya Rhodan
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![18-year-old YPJ fighter Torin Khairegi: “We live ina world where women are dominated by men.We are here to take control of our future..I injured an ISIS jihadi in Kobane. When he was wounded, all his friends left him behind and ran away. Later I went there and buried his body. I now feel that I am very powerful and can defend my home, my friends, my country, and myself. Many of us have been matryred and I see no path other than the continuation of their path." Newsha Tavakolian for TIME Zinar base, Syria "I joined YPJ about seven months ago, because I was looking for something meaningful in my life and my leader [ Abdullah Ocalan] showed me the way and my role in the society. We live in a world where women are dominated by men. We are here to take control of our own future. We are not merely fighting with arms; we fight with our thoughts. Ocalan's ideology is always in our hearts and minds and it is with his thought that we become so empowered that we can even become better soldiers than men. When I am at the frontline, the thought of all the cruelty and injustice against women enrages me so much that I become extra-powerful in combat. I injured an ISIS jihadi in Kobane. When he was wounded, all his friends left him behind and ran away. Later I went there and buried his body. I now feel that I am very powerful and can defend my home, my friends, my country, and myself. Many of us have been matryred and I see no path other than the continuation of their path."](/redesign/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.time.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F04%2Fkurdish-women-fighters-syria-isis-newsha-tavakolian-09.jpg%3Fquality%3D85%26w%3D400%26h%3D400&w=480&q=75)
by Newsha Tavakolian
by Mikko Takkunen
by Mikko Takkunen
by Rebecca Collard / Erbil
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by Mikko Takkunen
by Rebecca Collard / Erbil
by Michael Crowley
by Michael Crowley
by Olivier Laurent