'We are not meant to sit at home' — Meet the female Peshmerga fighters battling ISIS

pulse

March 8, 2017 7:07 PM

The Kurdish Peshmerga has been battling the ISIS terror group since it swept through Iraq and Syria in 2014, and one of the most unique aspects has been the use of female fighters.

null

The Kurdish Peshmerga has been battling the ISIS terror group since it swept through much of Iraq and Syria in 2014, and one of its most unique aspects has been the use of female fighters on the front lines.

Unlike most other militaries, the Peshmerga not only allows women within its ranks, but they also serve shoulder-to-shoulder with men in combat. According to Zack Bazzi, Middle East project manager for Spirit of America, there are about 1,700 women serving in combat roles within the Peshmerga.

"We are not meant to sit at home, doing housework," says Zehra, a commander who has served for 8 years. "We are on the frontlines, fighting to defeat ISIS."

In partnership with The Kurdish Project, Spirit of America recently profiled female fighters serving on the front lines with the Peshmerga — a Kurdish word for "those who face death." The video interviews were published on a new website called "Females on the Frontline."

"From what I have observed, these women are patriots fighting to defend their families and their homelands from the threat of ISIS," Bazzi told Business Insider. "But there is no doubt that they also want to send an unmistakable message, that, as women, they have a prominent and equal role to play in their society."

Bazzi told Business Insider that individual Peshmerga units determine their own policies regarding the mixing of male and female fighters. Still, he said, most women serving in male units are accepted and fully integrated into the ranks.

"As a matter of fact, people in the region view it as a point of pride that these women share an equal burden in defense of the homeland," he said.

The Females on the Frontline site features short interviews with Sozan, Nishtiman, Kurdistan, and Zehra, four Peshmerga soldiers who have served in different roles and in varying lengths of duty.

"On our team, we women are fighting along with the men shoulder to shoulder on the front lines," says Nishtiman, a 26-year old unit commander who has served for four years in the Peshmerga. She fights alongside her alongside her husband and brother, according to the site.

pulse