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THE DAUGHTERS OF KOBANI

The Women Who Took On The Islamic State

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
The extraordinary story of the women who took on the Islamic State and won In 2014, northeastern Syria might have been the last place you would expect to find a revolution centered on women's rights. But that year, an all-female militia faced off against ISIS in a little town few had ever heard of: Kobani. By then, the Islamic State had swept across vast swathes of the country, taking town after town and spreading terror as the civil war burned all around it. From that unlikely showdown in Kobani emerged a fighting force that would wage war against ISIS across northern Syria alongside the United States. In the process, these women would spread their own political vision, determined to make women's equality a reality by fighting - house by house, street by street, city by city - the men who bought and sold women. Based on years of on-the-ground reporting, The Daughters of Kobani is the unforgettable story of the women of the Kurdish militia that improbably became part of the world's best hope for stopping ISIS in Syria. Drawing from hundreds of hours of interviews, bestselling author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon introduces us to the women fighting on the front lines, determined to not only extinguish the terror of ISIS but also prove that women could lead in war and must enjoy equal rights come the peace. Rigorously reported and powerfully told, The Daughters of Kobani shines a light on a group of women intent on not only defeating the Islamic State on the battlefield but also changing women's lives in their corner of the Middle East and beyond.
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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from November 23, 2020
      National security analyst Lemmon (Ashley’s War) delivers a fascinating portrait of Kurdish female fighters and their role in the Syrian civil war and the fight against the Islamic State. Beginning in 2012, Lemmon explains, ISIS took advantage of a rebellion against the Assad regime to seize control of vast swaths of territory in Syria. The country’s Kurdish ethnic minority, concentrated along the northeastern borders with Turkey and Iraq and long oppressed by the Syrian government, formed People’s Protection Units to advance the cause of self-rule and defend Kurdish villages from ISIS and other extremists. In 2013, a few hundred women formed a “separate and equal” satellite of the People’s Protection Units, stipulating that in their new organization “women could and would lead men in battle, but women would not be led by men.” They soon gained a reputation as fierce and effective fighters, which Lemmon demonstrates in a riveting account of how four women took part in the battle for the city of Kobani. Aided by U.S. intelligence and occasional air strikes, these and other members of the Women’s Protection Units helped to retake the city from ISIS. Lemmon briskly sketches the biographies of individual fighters and commanders, and unravels the complex history of the region with skill. This deeply reported account enthralls and informs. Agent: Elyse Cheney, Elyse Cheney Literary

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  • English

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