The PKK prides itself on treating both sexes equally and the female guerilla fighters from the group have made many international headlines. Which is why their recruitment of Yazidi women has the potential to change the way that the females in that secretive ethno-religious society see themselves and others.
PKK recruitment techniques are considered controversial by some – for example, families have been known to protest that their children have joined up and there are rumours about young men and women being pressed into PKK service; it's also common knowledge that women who run away to join the PKK often do so because they are unhappy at home with their traditional roles and there have been criticisms that the PKK are psychologically manipulative.
On the other hand, the PKK were also integral to the rescue of the Yazidi people last August. The militia group opened and defended a humanitarian corridor that helped save thousands of Yazidis who were trapped on the mountain without shelter, water or food. For this, the PKK are increasingly seen as heroes and saviours.
“The Yazidi women here joined us because they saw how women could fight and how courageous they could be,” explains Hadar, a 32-year-old member of the Sinjar women's unit; she is supervising a group of female trainees aged between 16 and 24. “The Yazidi women suffered at the hands of the Islamic State and now they want to be able to protect themselves.”
The PKK used to have difficulties recruiting women – in many local social circles it is not acceptable for women to be in the military, particularly in Yazidi tribal groups – but Hadar says the IS group's attack on Sinjar has changed all that. “When we go to meet the women in the camps or in their homes now, they welcome us and interact with us happily,” Hadar says.
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