Environmental degradation continues to plague Turkey in 2023, as forests are sacrificed for mining ventures, water resources are exploited, and major destruction is wrought in Kurdish regions.
After the Revolution in Rojava, the education system in NE Syria has been fundamentally changed. Mother language has been officially taught in all schools based on the principle of a democratic nation that protects the rights of all nations. Children are educated in their mother language and this saves communities in NE Syria from extinction and protects their cultural, artistic and historical heritage.
Khalat joined a sewing training course organized by the Foundation of the Free Women in Syria in the city of Qamishli, northeastern Syria, four years ago. She learned the profession and then landed a job within a sewing workshop affiliated with the Foundation. “I got a job opportunity in the workshop after mastering the profession,
There is an increase in purchasing solar panels by the region’s residents following the recent Turkish airstrikes on fuel facilities and oil wells.
Women working at Turkey’s first all-women district market called, “Jiyan District Market” in Amed (Diyarbakır) do not want male stallholders to work in their market. “We will not allow men to take our places,” the women say.
Turkish airstrikes in the city of Kobani in northern Syria on Jan. 14, led to the complete destruction of a poultry farm and resulted in losses totalling tens of thousands of dollars.
As the first anniversary of Turkey’s devastating February earthquakes approaches, women in the earthquake-stricken areas continue to face a spiral of violence and poverty, with calls for organisation to address these issues, report Mezopotamya Agency’s Yüsra Batıhan and Şilan Çil.
Women have played a prominent role in Northeast Syria since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, starting from cities like Hasakah, Qamishli, Afrin, Kobani, and extending to Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij, and Deir ez-Zor. They have actively participated in various sectors, including military, social, political, economic, and others.
A doctor and hospital manager in the city of Qamishli, northeast Syria, warned that hospitals are about to become unable to provide services due to fuel shortages caused by the recent Turkish targeting of oil fields.
While North and East Syria’s (NES) Women’s and People’s Defense Units (the YPJ and YPG) have taken worldwide headlines for their role in the defeat of ISIS’ caliphate and continue to garner attention, a much lesser-known force in NES is the HPC – Civil Defense Forces. The HPC exist across the region of NES: small, neighborhood groups of volunteers who undertake defense activities on a local level in a decentralized manner. HPC-Jin is the women’s arm of the force. RIC followed the activities of different HPC groups around NES, visited HPC centers, and interviewed several HPC members to shed light on their work, explore how “defense” is defined within the HPC and see the challenges they face.
In large parts of Northern and Eastern Syria, the population’s supply of electricity, water and fuel has collapsed due to Turkish attacks. Women in Qamishlo talked about their living conditions.
With Aya Ali al-Muhammad, we continue to tell a series of stories of young women murdered by the Turkish army in North and East Syria. Young women who took their share of responsibility in a war-torn region and died at their places of work. They leave families in pain, but also a society that remains determined to leave the time of war behind and to build peaceful and democratic coexistence together with all the ethnic groups of the region.
