Syria’s feminist fortress

In a society riven by conflict and misogyny, the autonomous region of Rojava in north-east Syria has a government with perhaps the most complete gender equality in the world

Natasha Walter in Rojava

‘Woman, life, freedom’ BEING A WOMAN,” says the woman standing on the stage in front of me, “doesn’t mean I am just here to raise children. Being a woman means that I am here to write history. Women can speak. We can sing. Nobody will silence us.” There is a roar of approval around me. I’m in a huge conference hall in Hasakah, a city in north-east Syria. The woman on the stage, a singer called Mizgîn Tahir, has bobbed curly hair and wears boots and a skirt, while the women around me are dressed in varied styles – some in floor-length Kurdish dresses with sparkling embroidery, others with headscarves and plain coats, others sporting Yazidi headdresses with hanging beads. All are cheering. Tahir has finished her speech and is…

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Guardian Weekly (Digital) - 1 Issue, 14 February 2025

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