JINHA

KOBANÊ – At the Martyr Rojda Academy, women joining the YPJ (Women’s Defense Units) in Rojava prepare for their posts with education and training.

After YPJ fighters played an integral role in the liberation of the entirety of Rojava’s Kobanê Canton from Daesh, the women opened their first academy in June 2015. The academy, named after Rojda, one of the leaders of the Kobanê resistance, provides both theoretical and military training to women fighters. At Martyr Rojda Academy, dozens of women are attending the latest term of classes.

The women attend classes on women’s history; the history of Kurdistan and Kobanê; the importance of education; science; the work of PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) leader Abdullah Öcalan; democratic autonomy; and military training. The sessions also involve seminars and debates on free womanhood, culture and ethics. Members also have the option of taking Kurdish classes.

The fighters wake up early and begin the day with exercise. After breakfast, classes begin. The classes break for lunch and a break, after which the work continues until evening.

Student and YPJ fighter Najîn Bab expressed that education strengthens the trainees and helps them defend themselves against all forms of aggression, while student Alijîn Kobanê said that she had begun to understand the reality of women’s experience through the classes.

“I’m here to end enslavement—for free women and a free society,” said fighter Zozan Kobanê.

(ho/rc/cm)