Peace Leaders Network: Marginalizing YPJ is threat to women's struggle in Syria

The head of the administrative body of the Peace Leaders Network and a member of the Women's Council Coordination in North and East Syria, Steer Qasim, spoke about the reality of women in Syria and the role of the Women's Protection Units in the current phase.

Steer Qasim confirmed that the Women's Protection Units and their establishment in Rojava and Syria in general were not a transient situation, but rather a belief in women being capable of participating in all fields and arenas, from the political, diplomatic, cultural, and economic spheres to the most important one: defending themselves, their fellow women, and their people.

Steer added: "The establishment of these units came from the conviction of these women who saw that their role and rights would not be complete unless forces were formed to defend themselves and the gains of their revolution."
Steer praised this experience as "new and remarkable" for women leading battles against oppression, assaults, and attacks on their regions, and having reached a state of self-confidence where they place victories before their eyes, sacrificing themselves to achieve their goals of liberating society and women. She affirmed that the experience of the Women's Protection Units is an "exceptional experience" for women and society in the Middle East.

Steer Qasim noted that the exclusion of the Women's Protection Units from the military, political, and public scene in Syria is an exclusion of multiple ethical values that have been established in the struggle of all Syrian women, including Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, and other sects and religions. She continued her speech, saying: "The exclusion of the Women's Protection Units will negatively affect and constitute a setback for the women's struggle, and it will have negative repercussions on all other fields."

Steer explained that the gains or achievements made by individuals cannot continue or develop unless there are protection and a military force to safeguard them. She pointed out that the Women's Protection Units were the forces that protected women and their accomplishments in Rojava, and that their exclusion from the scene is a regression of women's rights in all other areas.

She also pointed out that since the establishment of the units, "we have seen a significant and positive impact on Syrian women, as they drew strength and resilience from this experience, reaching the conviction that there is a wide space for them to play their role in the struggle with the presence of a women's defense force capable of protecting them, and this force can become the nucleus of the army that will protect the new Syria."

Regarding the attempts to exclude women from all leadership positions in Syria, Steer Qasim said: "After the transitional authority took over the reins of power, we saw significant attempts to exclude women, reaching the point of excluding the Women's Protection Units from the political and military scene. This will not only affect their presence in the military field but will also negatively impact women's movements, putting them in a state of frustration and despair and in a regression phase, erasing everything they achieved during the years of the revolution or before it." She clarified that women in Syria have a "long and rich history," and these efforts culminated in the formation of the Women's Protection Units.

Steer emphasized that the exclusion of the Women's Protection Units or marginalizing their role in Syria means the death and end of the women's struggle.

Regarding how to ensure women's rights in Syria, she emphasized the necessity of their participation in writing the new constitution and that this constitution guaranties their rights, prioritizing women's needs and requirements; as women are the most affected and the strongest participants in the struggle for Syria and the peaceful movement.

The head of the administrative body of the Peace Leaders Network and a member of the Women's Council Coordination in North and East Syria from civil society, Steer Qasim, concluded her speech by saying, "The constitution alone is the protector of women's rights, and the mechanism for achieving and implementing the constitution on the ground is thru effective laws and the protection of these constitutional provisions thru quota rights, and ensuring these rights thru constitutional principles."

ANHA