Undercovered: These Are the Women Who Fight ISIS

Undercovered is our daily feature bringing attention to women’s issues worldwide, which we feel deserve a larger audience.

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“To an ISIS militant, one of the worst things that could transpire in combat is not just being killed, but being killed by a woman,” Savannah Cox wrote last year.

Four years ago, Vice produced a series of documentaries of the Kurdish women fighting in the militia. (Part 2 of 3 is viewable below. Check out the rest here.)

More recently, Mic published a stunning series of photos of Kurdish women serving in combat in the war against ISIS.

Meredith Tax, author of A Road Unforeseen: Women Fight the Islamic State, wrote in the New York Times this week: “The Kurdish liberation movement’s approach […] emphasizes self-defense in both military and social terms. Female guerrillas are meant to be seen as exemplars who show that female leadership is crucial in every sphere of society.”

You can read her complete piece about the women guerilla fighters in the Kurdish militia here.

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[image via screengrab: Vice/YouTube]

Undercovered is a daily feature from Mediaite, bringing attention to stories about women’s issues that warrant more attention. Go through the Undercovered archives here. If you have an idea or a tip, please email us at Undercovered@mediaite.com

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