Syrian Kurdish Women's Defense Units Seek to Preserve Their Identity and Structure

According to Kurdistan Press, according to Nowruz Ahmed, the Women's Defense Units initially hoped to operate in the new Syrian army, preferably as a women's regiment or battalion with a level of organizational independence, but the Damascus government has announced in the final stage of negotiations that this force cannot be subordinate to the Ministry of Defense and must negotiate with the Syrian Ministry of Interior to determine its status.In an interview with the magazine "Amarji", Nowruz Ahmed said that the Women's Defense Units want to transform the experience of several years of fighting ISIS and other armed groups into a force to defend women and different communities throughout Syria.

She emphasized that even if the name or administrative framework of the force changes, preserving its identity and structure is of fundamental importance for the Women's Defense Units.

Nowruz Ahmed said: "We have not been defeated. Everything has not been in vain. We are becoming a part of Syria with our identity."

She added that the Women's Defense Units now has more than 1,500 members and that the activity of this force is still necessary in a situation where a democratic system has not yet been formed to guarantee women's rights in Syria.

She said: "Women's rights are not yet guaranteed in a democratic system. Armed groups are still active and Syria has not achieved stability.For this reason, we believe that women should be able to defend themselves and organize to defend their rights.”

Regarding the first talks with the Syrian Ministry of Interior, Nowruz Ahmed explained that the meeting took place on August 27 and that the Women’s Defense Units’ goal was to first determine how the women members of the force could fit into the new Syrian security structure and then share their demands with the Damascus authorities.

She said that the Women’s Defense Units’ most important demand is to maintain the force as an organized female structure. According to Nowruz Ahmed, the force has extensive experience in war and wants to put this experience at the service of the Kurdish people and other Syrian communities.

Nowruz Ahmed added: “We thought that the structure of special forces or a military regiment would be more suitable for us, because the tasks and responsibilities of the internal security forces are different.Women can serve individually in the internal security forces, but our demand is that the Women’s Defense Units remain a separate women’s force.”

She said that the Damascus authorities have shown some openness to the presence of women in the security structures in the first negotiations. According to him, the Syrian authorities have acknowledged that women were not present much in the security structures controlled by the forces stationed in Idlib before, but now they have accepted the necessity of women’s participation.

Nowruz Ahmed added that the Damascus authorities have even suggested that this force be given a level of independence within the framework of defending the areas of Hasakah and Aleppo, where the Women’s Defense Units are present.

She said: “They said we can talk about a level of independence within the framework of defending Hasakah and Aleppo. We also said that we want to keep our forces in our own areas.But we have not received a final answer as of September 6.”

According to Nowruz Ahmed, in the final stage of the negotiations, the Women’s Defense Units were informed that it was not possible to reach a result through the Ministry of Defense, because the Syrian government does not consider this force to be part of the army, and therefore the dialogue with the Ministry of Interior must continue.

Regarding his understanding of Damascus’s view on women’s participation, he said that the experience of the current Syrian government officials in Idlib is fundamentally different from the experience of the Women’s Defense Units. According to him, Damascus officials accept that women should be present in the new Syrian structure, but they are skeptical about the degree of independence and scope of the Women’s Defense Units’ activities.

 “They consider the Idlib experience suitable for themselves, and we consider our experience suitable for northern Syria,” said Nowruz Ahmed.“They say the experience of the Women’s Defense Units in the region is very long and extensive, and they are still not sure whether this model can be implemented throughout Syria.”

She emphasized that the issue of preserving the identity of the Women’s Defense Units is not just an organizational or military issue, but is directly related to the situation of women’s rights in Syria.