Kurdish Women On the Front Lines of Battle

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Image from, under the headline "Kurdish Women Fighters"

Out of the Syrian war there have been a plethora of political developments worthy of academic study, including human migration, non-state actors and their role in inter and intra state legitimacy, the rise of radical Islam, etc. An additional noteworthy development, that has yet to garner academic exploration, is the rumored phenomenon of Kurdish female fighters creating a deterrent effect against Islamic State fighters due to the women’s sex. It is purported that Islamic fighters are fearful to engage the women in battle due to a religious aversion. They assumedly believe that if they suffer a mortal defeat at the hands of a female, they will in turn be denied the rewards they believe they are to receive in the afterlife for their actions acting as a shahid, or martyr for Jihad and greater Islam.

The Kurdish Project states that “The YPJ [Kurdish female fighting force] is also thought to be feared by ISIS, who believes that if a female kills them in battle, it will be a disgrace and dishonor, and will prohibit them from entering paradise”(YPJ, 2015). It is arguably imperative that this claim be explored. Although this case makes a specific example of Kurdish female fighters, the larger phenomenon of a possible deterrent effect against radical Islamic fighters could be a breakthrough in counterterrorism and strategic studies. If this is indeed a real phenomenon, then it provides a new tactic that counter terrorism practitioners can utilize accordingly.

Interestingly, leading international experts appear to disagree about the efficacy of this deterrence affect. Some Kurdish specialists, such as Eliezer Tsafrir (2016), advance that this is a real phenomenon and even explains the tactics behind the deterrent effect. Other Kurdish scholars, such as Ofra Bengio (2016), disagree and advocate that this is only a perceived phenomenon, yet maintains that it has positive ramifications. Finally, some academics such as Emanuela Del Rey (2015) suspect that the phenomenon is being promoted for entirely ulterior motives, such as public diplomacy opportunities.

This paper will explore the broad subject of women in war and focus on the validity of the claim that there is a deterrent effect stemming from Kurdish female fighters due to their sex. As of yet, there are few instances of the supposed deterrent effect being recorded in academia. This paper is intended to serve as a foundational article so that future academics can utilize the findings to build upon. Beyond providing a credible confirmation or declination of the supposed deterrence effect, this paper will work to highlight alternate explanations for the perception and promotion of the tactics. Without strong academic sources available, this paper will analyze the abundance of media reports that document the event. A generic internet search of Kurdish female fighters and ISIS yields hundreds of interviews with YPG and YPJ fighters who confirm the occurrence of this deterrence tactic. Combining select interviews and reputable documentaries with expert assessments of the YPG and ISIS, this paper will deliver on the aforementioned topics surrounding this claim. Finally, the end of the paper presents next steps for further academic inquiry into this important topic.