Women living in Jinwar, an all-women village, work together to build a common life. The village is the place that they always dreamed of living in.
Jinwar, the first all-women village in Kurdistan and in the Middle East, is located in the western part of the Dirbêsiyê (Dirbasiyah), Jazira Canton of North and East Syria. The project of the village was developed at the end of 2016. Its construction started on March 10, 2017 and was completed in 2018. The village was opened on November 25, 2018, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The village, beautified by women, is also a shelter where women feel safe.
Education is an important part of daily life
In the village, there are 30 houses, a school, a communal dining hall, a shop and a Şîfa Jin (Women’s Clinic) and women learn a living from agriculture and animal husbandry. Women living in the village also ensure the security of the village. Education is an important part of daily life in the village. Women come together at the school to learn how to read and write and other information. They use solar panels to generate electricity.
‘We work together’
As a NuJINHA team, we went to the village and spent a night there. As dawn rises, we saw women ensuring the security of the village. Delal Hecî Omer, a Yazidi woman from Hasakah, welcomed us with a cup of coffee she brewed over an open fire. She has lived in the village with her three daughters for five years. “As the women of the village, we always work together. I am a Yazidi woman living with Muslim women. I feel like they are my relatives. All women in the village celebrate Yazidi holidays with me,” she told us.
Delal Hecî Omer spoke about the communal life in the village. “After preparing breakfast for children and sending them to the school, all the women in the village start doing the work that needs to be done together. Sometimes, we have guests. We cook and serve meals to the guests together.”
She settled in Jinwar with her three daughters after her divorce
When Delal Hecî Omer wanted to live in the village, her family did not allow her. “My family did not allow me to come here because I am a Yazidi. I was told, ‘There is a Yazidi village, go there’. My family did not accept a Yazidi woman to live with women of different religions. My living conditions deteriorated after I got divorced. I have three daughters but my family did not support me. I told my family ‘You did not help a Yazidi woman’ and I decided to come to Jinwar village. My daughters also like the village. They feel happy here.”
Calling on all Yazidi women to believe in themselves without fear, Delal Hecî Omer said, “People can practice their faith wherever they are. If they do not believe in themselves, they will never become strong. Women should believe in themselves to be strong. The door of the village is open to every woman.”
She visited the village but decided to live there
Yasmîn Ehlam Ehmed is a woman of Afrin, ensuring the security of the village. She has been living in the village for about three years. “While I was living in Aleppo, I heard that there was an all-women village in Dirbesiyê. Then I got curious and wanted to see it. I decided to visit the village and stayed here for two months. I decided to live here forever after spending a month here. The village is the place that I always dreamed of living in. This place is better for the development of myself and my daughter.”
They plan everything together
Yasmîn Ehlam Ehmed has a son and a daughter. Her son lives with his father in Aleppo. “In the morning, we send our children to school. In the village, we plan everything together and work together. We bake bread at the bakery together. We plant vegetables and harvest them together. We do the housework together. I am in charge of ensuring security of the village. We protect each other.”
The door of Jinwar is open for all women
The people who visit the village are very impressed by the communal life built by women, Yasmîn Ehlam Ehmed told us. “I feel happy whenever I see women live with their daughters here. I feel more self-confidence here. The door of Jinwar is open for all women. The village is the place for all women who do not know where to go and want to improve and educate themselves.”
