Muslim Mothers in Ground Combat Against the Islamic State

Abstract

This study analyzes the experiences and identities of Kurdish women fighting the Islamic State (IS) in northern Iraq as part of the Peshmerga Army. The case is especially interesting because these women have engaged in ground combat and because there is an empirical gap in knowledge, especially concerning Muslim women’s experiences as soldiers. Wars bring great destruction but can also catalyze social change. While seeking balance between their identities as good mothers and professional soldiers, many Kurdish women see their war participation as a chance to increase their agency and improve equality in society, as combat operations create a window of opportunity to change perceptions of women’s roles. Women soldiers still face prejudices and feel that they must prove their worth as fearless warriors in ground combat. However, interviewed soldiers said that they were not striving for equality but equivalency, stressing those qualities that women in particular can contribute in battle.

Beyond stereotypes: Women and their engagement in football fandom

“…Research from other areas (e.g. engagement in the ‘male’ world of politics and warfare, see Nilsson, 2018) demonstrates that women involved in activism in male and hostile environments gain a feeling of agency and develop emancipatory tendencies. In the domain of football, where male players occupy a privileged position, the steadfast and uncompromising attitude of female footballers such as Megan Rapinoe resulted in drawing attention to the situation of women, but most of all it has opened the door for the empowerment of other female players (Coffey, 2019).…”

The Status of Women in Kurdish Society and the Extent of Their Interactions in Public Realm

“…This is particularly important if one compares the data with previous records, which show that only 6 out of 105 parliamentarians were women in 1992. Notably, the IS threat against women’s life in the Sinjar region in August 2014 encouraged more “Kurdish women to join the frontline war effort, challenging their victim role in warfare and broadening their identity from being mere caregivers to protectors” (Nilsson, 2018b, p. 16). This also brought forward some changes in the conservative Kurdish society concerning women’s roles and identities, so that it became easier for women to join the Peshmerga today than it had been before.…”

Kurdish women in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict – perceptions, experiences, and strategies

“…In Iraq, the shocks have included the Anfal campaign of 1988, which made it necessary for many surviving women 'to go beyond traditional female work', 54 and the fight against the Islamic State (IS) in 2014, which gave women Peshmerga a window of opportunity to improve women's positions in a traditional society where men are seen as the defenders of the nation. 55 In Turkey, the shock has consisted of the violent struggle between the PKK and the Turkish state, including the social upheavals created by waves of Kurdish migration to central and western Turkey. The change processes set in motion by these shocks have been influenced by the social structures of the affected areas.…”