Tel Tamr_  At a time when women's achievements in Rojava are under threat, women continue their struggle and defend themselves against all attacks to secure their rights in the Syrian constitution.

Sîdar Ma'sûm, an administrator in the Women's Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in the city of Tel Tamr in the Jazira Canton, assessed the importance of women's role in ensuring a fair and democratic constitution, criticizing the Syrian interim government, saying: "It has not even been a year since the formation of the interim government, yet it rejects the presence of women and the achievements they have made over fourteen years."

She stated that the Rojava revolution began under the leadership of many revolutionary women and young women, and has reached its current level, but "the interim government does not accept the guarantee of women's rights in Rojava and what they have achieved over fourteen years."

She added: "The world knows the great role women played in the revolutionary path. The war against ISIS is the best example of a time when states were unable to fight the jihadists and lived in fear, yet female fighters fought with light weapons and destroyed the capital of terrorism."

She affirmed that "Kurdish women will never accept the cloak of servitude, death, and living under the shadow of men." As she explained, women "found the freedom they had sought for thousands of years through the philosophy of 'Woman, Life, Freedom'."

She added: "We Kurdish women do not accept wearing the cloak of servitude and death, because we are struggling to reclaim our identity as a Kurdish people. We wage the same struggle against the authoritarian masculine mentality practiced by the Ba'ath regime and the current government. We constantly affirm our existence and our role, because we are Kurds. When a Kurdish woman carries this weapon and this responsibility, the entire world respects her."

The Struggle for Life

Sîdar Ma'sûm pointed out that the jihadists of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, driven by extremist Islamic ideology, are trying to hide women's beauty under a black cloak: "They cut our female fighters' hair and want to suffocate us under a black cloak in the name of extremist Islam. But our girls' hair is our conscience; it is a symbol of our beauty. For this reason, we fight to the death for life."

She emphasized the ethical and human responsibility that female fighters carry toward their cause and toward the mothers of martyrs: "After 14 years of revolution, how can we lay down our weapons? What will we say to our mothers? How will we answer the questions of the mothers of martyrs? Of course, that is impossible, because on the day we took up arms, we chose the path of the martyrs. Therefore, we will continue our struggle to attain our rights and our identity in accordance with the philosophy of freedom."

"Women Must Rise Up"

She affirmed that all women must rise up to defend their rights and continue their struggle without retreat: "All women who are still enslaved must rise up. Women who have struggled for freedom and are still struggling must not put on the cloak of servitude again. They must be confident and strong. Whatever happens, we will not lay down our weapons, and we will not abandon the path of the martyrs."