Cahide Harputlu – Narin Çapan/JINHA

KOBANÊ – YPJ women who struggled against Daesh in Kobanê called on all women to resist the patriarchal system on March 8. They sent their greetings to the World March of Women, which will kick off in Nusaybin, just across the border from Rojava's city of Qamişlo, on March 6.

YPG/YPJ fighters liberated Kobanê from Daesh attacks after 134 days of resistance. Now, they are continuing to remove Daesh gang members from the surrounding villages. YPJ fighter Hevjîn Agir says Daesh have begun withdrawing.

"The YPJ's increasing part in this war really changed the fate of the war," said Hevjîn. "We can see this in the second charge [the village operations]."

She said returning to places long under Daesh occupation left her with complicated feelings.

"On the one hand, morale is high from the YPG/YPJ victory," she explained."But on the other hand, we remember and get emotional about the friends of ours who fell here as martyrs. Our eyes fill with tears sometimes, but that doesn't mean we don't have morale. We take our strength from their struggle."

YPJ fighter Arjîn Efrîn says that when the YPJ women heard about the rape and murder of university student Özgecan Aslan in Turkey's Mersin province, they felt the same rage and sorrow as the women taking to the streets of Turkey. She said the demonstrations were meaningful for her and her YPJ comrades.

"Women have to show the same reaction the next time this happens," she said. "Women have to protect themselves and defend their rights. They have to call this bloodthirsty system to account."

Women have always been leaders in society, from Neolithic history until today, said Rojbîn Kobanê.

"We have a lot of women commanders. They're always exemplary, from their way of living to their way of fighting," she said. "There have been a lot of people joining from different countries who were very affected by them, who wanted to develop themselves. They've been working especially hard to learn the language."

Rojbîn greeted the women of the world for March 8 and especially sent her greetings to the women taking part in the World March of Women in Nusaybin.

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