The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice

In her new book, journalist Lemmon (Ashley’s War) again focuses on the contributions of women in wartime, highlighting the all-female Kurdish militia units who partnered with U.S. armed forces against ISIS in Syria. Indeed, it was a soldier she’d previously worked with while researching Ashley’s War who urged her to take a deeper look at the Kurdish Women’s Protection Units (YPJ). From 2017 to 2020, the author made multiple trips to Syria to interview YPJ members, who served as snipers and frontline commanders, fighting alongside men, all the while demanding that women be considered equal. After following the women through the victory of retaking the ISIS capital of Raqqa, the book ends on a darker note, with the announcement by Donald Trump that the U.S. would pull out of Syria, leaving the country alone to handle an invasion by NATO ally Turkey. Only days later, Turkey launched an offensive aimed at an ethnic cleansing of Syrian Kurds.