Kurdish women battled Islamic State. Now they face uncertainty

They became global symbols of the fight against Islamic State. Now Syria's Kurdish women fighters face an uncertain role in the country's military. Islamists have led Syria's government since they ousted former President Bashar al-Assad in 2024. Now they want to fold all armed groups, as the country heals from more than a decade of civil war, into the state's reshaped institutions. But not these women. Goksu Chiar-Ger fought for the 1,500 strong Women's Protection Units, known as the YPJ. Women are not accepted in the army, no matter how many women there are, they are not accepted. The women fought alongside the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, to help drive Islamic State from Syria's north and east. The SDF was just dissolved and some members joined Syria's new defence ministry. But Commander Nawruz Ahmed says she met President Ahmed al-Shara'a last week. We were aiming to join because our forces have experience and expertise, she says. But she was told they had no place in the military. Many Kurds are wary of the new president, who once headed al-Qaeda's Syria branch. Government-linked forces also perpetrated mass violence against minorities last year. For many Kurdish women, the YPJ symbolises their hard-won political and social gains. Determined to maintain an organised force, the YPJ says it's in talks with Syria's interior ministry and has proposed joining its Special Operations Units. Syria's defence and interior ministries did not immediately respond to questions about those discussions.