ZinarînAydîn / JINHA

QAMIŞLO – The fate of WidadYûnan and ŞamîraŞiba, the two Assyrian women who heroically resisted Daesh attacks on their homeland, is still unknown, but they have become heroes for Assyrian and Syriac women, says ŞamîraŞemo, of the executive board of the Habur Assyrian Women's Union.Şamîra explained that the fact that the women's state is still unknown is worrying.

Şamîra says Daesh first aimed its attacks at the Assyrian, Syriac and Chaldean peoples of the region in the wake of its attacks in Baghdad, Shengal and Mosul.Since Daesh forcefully abducted around 7,000 Êzîdî women from Shengal in August 2014, many women in the region have lived with the knowledge that Daesh considers them fair game for capture and enslavement.

On February 23, Daesh gangs, scattered by their severe defeat at Kobanê in January and the YPG/YPJ's recent operation to retake TilHemîs, launched their attack on the Assyrian, Syriac and Chaldean villages near Habur.

However, says ŞamîraŞemo, many women refused to accept the attempted genocide of their people in their ancient homeland. Şamîra says WidadYûnan, who was a member of the Haburasayiş (peacekeeping forces), is still missing.

"We know that Widad killed around seven Daesh members, and after that we haven't gotten any word from her. Now we don't know if she's been martyred, or if she's been taken hostage by Daesh," explained ŞamîraŞemo.

ŞamîraŞiba, another fighter from whom there is still no report, joined an organization that cooks for and provides solidarity to the defense forces. When the attacks began, ŞamîraŞiba did not want to leave behind her adult children, who were taking part in the defense.

"No matter how much the fighters there asked them to go to a safer place with the rest of the people, they said, 'we don’t want to leave our homeland any more than you," said ŞamîraŞemo, explaining eyewitness accounts from those coming from Hamur.ŞamîraŞiba was one of those women. There is no word from her either.

ŞamîraŞemo says that conceptions that reduce women to an element in the system of male "honor" have changed thanks to the resistance of women like Widad and ŞamîraŞiba. The victory in Kobanê, secured by women's struggle for their own liberation, has proved that the model of organized women's self-defense is a durable one, said ŞamîraŞemo.

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