Interview: “They may take our braids, but our dignity and our ideas cannot be eradicated” – Ruksen Mohamed, spokesperson of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ)

Ruksen Mohamed, spokesperson of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), speaks about the role of women taking up arms since the beginning of the revolution and YPJ’s future in the integration process with the Syrian Transitional Government (STG), in an interview from early February 2026.

There’s a new agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus. How has the YPJ participated in this process, have you made proposals that were included in the agreement?

The most recent agreement contains certain conditions, intended to prevent the continuation of the current massacres which are being planned and carried out against the Kurds. So we can protect not only Rojava, but the rights of the Kurdish people, and establish a democratic Syria. If we want a secure, peaceful Syria, there has to be peace and security in Rojava.

We need a homeland free from war, where there is democracy. The agreement was reached on this basis; to protect our people and stop the war that has continued from January 6 in Sheikh Maqsoud to today. There have been very grave attacks – massacres – against the existence of the Kurdish people, the achievements of the Rojava revolution, and especially against the achievements of women. As women, we have played the foremost role in the Rojava Revolution. It is women who have labored the most in all fields and especially in the field of defence. Those who played the most prominent role were the YPJ.

The YPJ’s soldiers and commanders protected North and East Syria, and also protected Syria and the world as a whole. We fought against ISIS’s terrorism. This was our ethical task, a responsibility we took on for the whole world. Both for our region, and for humanity.

If through this achievement we can implement a general ceasefire, this ceasefire won’t only be for Rojava. It is important for Syria and the Middle East as a whole. States act according to their own interests and plans. Look at the way the Middle East is being redesigned.

If it’s war, we’re ready to resist. We were always on the front lines of the war, we were the vanguard. We experienced many heavy losses – many of our members were martyred. If there is going to be war, we’re always ready to fight and defend our people, to protect our rights, and to protect women. If there is to be peace, we’re ready for this as well because we are a defence force. Whatever is asked of us, whatever our people need, we will do.

As the YPJ, of course we have a role in this agreement. The YPJ and women are at the forefront of the revolution, and the forefront of the SDF. We cannot speak of an armed force without women. Because women are the most prominent force in this revolution, those who direct it. With our existence, our thought, our will. The brigades that are being established will include the YPJ.

 

In the agreement, there’s no mention of the YPJ, they only mention the SDF. What does this mean for the YPJ?

They don’t mention the YPJ by name, but from the formation of the SDF in 2015 to today, the YPJ have been the leading force in the SDF. Even before the YPJ [was established], in the beginning of the revolution, women were active. We have been at the forefront, directing military thought, strategy and tactics, taking decisions. Our commanders and soldiers have played the largest role, in the war against ISIS, in the war against al-Nusra, in the latest war, in all fields, on all front lines. So we can’t talk about the SDF without including the YPJ.

Whether the YPJ are named in the agreement or not, the YPJ exists, it is autonomous, and this cannot be undone. We are determined on this point. Nobody can deny women’s leadership or vanguard role throughout the revolution and especially in the last conflict, from January 6 until today. If we speak about the security forces in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, women were once again at the forefront.

You can’t consider [women’s armed units] as something that belongs to the past – [women like] Deniz Ciya, a member of the Internal Security Forces. She was a woman. A warrior. She played a very important role up until the very end, with enormous resistance like Gerilla, Ferashin, Rojbin and all the other members of the security forces, those who fought to the end and were martyred in Sheikh Maqsoud.

They demonstrate that women’s will is at the forefront, unbroken. That there will be either death, or a life with dignity. If there will be a life with dignity, it will be with our people’s freedom. If there will be death, let it be one with dignity.

In this latest war, this has been embodied by our martyred comrade Sidar Afrin, the YPJ commander, who proved this once again. Sidar said: Death only comes once, but this death must be an honourable one. Why? Because if we are to live as a people, and especially as women, we must live a dignified life. We do not accept to live with bowed heads.

People have spoken a lot about the braids that were cut from the heads of female fighters, by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) criminals. These braids are not just braids: These attacks are trying to violate women’s will, women’s dignity. Severing braids is an attempt to attack our ideas, our existence, our spirit.  We have free thought, free will; we live in accordance with a philosophy of freedom which enables us to recognize our existence as women.

Nobody can deny our existence. This agreement will include the YPJ, it will be led by women and the YPJ. If we speak about Rojava, we have to speak about women.

 

How will the YPJ’s role change in the course of this agreement? How will they protect women in the future?

We may change where we’re located, but our position will be the same. We will be autonomous, we will have autonomous units.

We have a place within the SDF. In war, in training, in all areas we work and struggle together. If the SDF withdraws from one place to another, then the YPJ will participate in this as part of the battalions.

 

So there will be the YPJ units in all three battalions?

Of course.

 

How many members will join the new battalions? How many are Kurdish, and how many Arab?

I can’t say exactly – but we have thousands of female fighters.

 

Did you advance proposals as the YPJ that were rejected by Damascus?

Their mentality doesn’t accept women. It doesn’t accept women’s rights. But we are determined on this point – we will have our rights, we will remain here, and no-one can deny us.

Therefore, the YPJ is taking part in the current agreement. The points that have been agreed upon will involve the YPJ.

 

How will women’s rights be guaranteed in society at large? Will the Family Law (previously the Women’s Law) and Asayish women’s units remain?

They will continue. The Asayish women’s units will continue their work within Rojava. We have some institutions that were set up at the beginning of the revolution, and they will continue their work. Women’s rights will remain in our laws, and in our organization.

We will always have women’s institutions. They were established in the course of the revolution. In the Syrian revolution those who didn’t give up on their original principles are us in Rojava. We have continued as we started.

The opposition that emerged against the Assad regime, after a year or two, came under the power of external actors. They went over to Turkey, to other forces. But we continued our work to defend this region, to create equality, following a clear line, a clear ideology.

Our struggle, our resistance will increase. You asked, what will the situation be for women’s rights? The Family Law will continue to exist in Rojava. But in the future, in the new Syrian constitution, women’s rights and [the Family Law] must be enshrined.

 

It’s likely that Damascus will try to suffocate the women’s revolution through various channels – economic, media, social means. How can this be prevented?

In the revolution as a whole, and especially in the year since HTS took over, they have been using non-military methods including psychological warfare to try and vilify the name of the revolution, the name of the women’s revolution. The attacks that are happening now demonstrate this once again. When jihadist militias throw the body of a killed female fighter from the third floor of a building, they are demonstrating their hatred against women’s very existence, women’s will, women’s struggle.

When they cut off the braid of a female fighter, they are attempting to force us to surrender, to violate our honour.

Nobody can impose an undignified life upon us, or make us surrender; because we built up this system. We organised ourselves and our existence. Of course, the enemy militias are trying to destroy what has been built up through an enormous struggle.

Lots of the violations in this recent war haven’t been released in the media yet – for example, a soldier whose heart and eyes were gouged, bodies of fighters being burned, beheaded… It takes a lot to struggle against this. The heaviest burden here falls on women.

You can see this in many fields. In terms of language, for example, the greatest responsibility falls on women. Women, mothers, play the main role, no matter how much it’s denied. Women raise their children and introduce them into a culture. They do this sacred work. Across the world, we can see that women offer spiritual direction.

We don’t want to just speak about women’s place in human rights, or international law, because international laws are only words on paper. They are only formalities. On the ground they are not implemented at all. So we don’t want to just speak about these laws. If we are to speak of them, we should talk about Gaza.

Look at Gaza – the extent to which massacres have been committed there. And here, too, there have been massacres. And where are the human rights organizations? Nowhere to be seen.

These states talk about democracy, women’s rights, freedom… Yet they pay no mind to what’s happening here. They don’t listen.

They think of their own interests, first and foremost. As women, we say this: no matter how much the revolution is attacked and our name is maligned, as the YPJ we say we’ve come to this understanding. Our society in Rojava has also arrived at this understanding. We will continue with our own thought, our existence, our will and 14 years of resistance which will only increase. Our resistance will not be weakened.

Resistance is not only the armed resistance against these ideas. No, until we’ve implemented our system, taken our place in the new order, guaranteed our rights, our struggle will continue.

Creating a new life requires struggle and I believe all the peoples of the world are recognizing this – the importance of the people’s will, of women’s struggle, of the brotherhood of peoples, women’s rights. Whether in Europe, the Middle East, or around the world, women are recognising that the truth of life can only be realized with women’s existence and character.

In particular, the Rojava Revolution introduced the Woman, Life, Freedom philosophy to the world, which flourished even more in Iranian Kurdistan. We saw that all the women of the world welcomed this revolution and this concept. It’s on this basis, against the mentality that doesn’t accept women, that doesn’t accept their existence, that we have struggled with great effort for 14 years. It’s a major responsibility, a grave burden and we will undertake it.

 

Is there a difference between your approach to the Damascus government and the approach of the SDF at large?

No. There’s no difference between the SDF and the YPJ. The YPJ is autonomous, but it’s also part of the joint SDF command, our work is shared, our mentality is shared, our strategy is shared. There’s no difference – our position is unified.

 

As you said, it’s clear that the US might speak about human rights, but is acting according to its own interests. It’s clear the US will soon leave these regions. Do you believe you can protect your rights here as women, without the US as a guarantor force?

The Coalition entered Rojava for one task: to fight against terrorism. We have always known that when the fight against terrorism was over, that force would leave. It’s not permanent. It’s a tactical relationship, nothing strategic.

We have worked together on this basis and struggled against ISIS together. Nothing much will change because when we launched the revolution, we did so on the basis of belief in our people. So the withdrawal of the US or Coalition forces from here won’t affect us so much. They came for the war against ISIS. This war has finished, when their interests change, they leave.

 

And you’re ready for that eventuality?

Yes. We aren’t worrying about when or how they will leave, because we knew they only ever came here to fight ISIS. We didn’t ask for anything besides this. They have a guarantor role, they played a role in this agreement between us and HTS, but there’s nothing much more than this.

 

Is there a danger that, in the course of integration, the autonomy of the YPJ will be affected?

No. There will be no change, because even if there’s integration, our battalions will remain in our regions. There will be no change in this sense. Our position is clear, our strategy is clear. Our work and struggle will continue, and will not be impacted.

We won’t hand over our armoured vehicles or heavy weapons. We will remain part of the SDF.

 

What’s the role of the media here? The YPJ became well-known worldwide in the course of the war against ISIS, but now there are violations against the YPJ members and there is media commentary asking why women are on the front lines in the first place.

The YPJ fought against Jabhat al-Nusra from the beginning. Women fighters were at the very front from the beginning, though they weren’t fighting in the YPJ’s name at that time. After the YPJ was established, they fought against ISIS, and still today, they take a leading role in the war, in the development and building of the revolution, in life itself. The most recent war took place 13 years after the establishment of the YPJ, establishing itself on this basis and with this mentality. The war which is being fought today, against the HTS militants, is the same as the ISIS militants, who are seeking a new caliphate, under a new name.

It’s being fought against the paramilitaries controlled by the Turkish state. Those who are attacking are the same as those who attacked Shengal, Kobane, the Syrian coast, Suweyda. Hundreds of our comrades became known in the course of the Battle of Kobane, such as Arin Mirkan, Rewan, Destina. The jihadists want to take their revenge.

There are many things yet to be published by the press. They are committing violations – violating women’s honour, torturing them, desecrating their bodies, cutting off their hair, throwing them from buildings, committing violations that are against humanity.

The YPJ will always abide by its free will. Maybe in these moments [the enemy] wants to draw a dark shroud over the YPJ’s struggle, and in doing so, break all women’s will – not only the YPJ, not only in Rojava – because the YPJ has become a symbol for all the women of humanity. They are trying to strike fear into our hearts but nothing can intimidate us. We have begun on our path of struggle, and we know we will achieve our rights and not take a single step back.

With our thought, existence, identity, we will continue our work, our struggle. This is what we promised at the outset. The first YPJ martyrs who fell against Jabhat al-Nusra were Berivan and Silava and we continue their legacy, advancing their fight, their struggle.

We are the grandchildren of Bese, Zerife, Leyla Qasim, the followers of Jina Amini, Deniz, Arin, Avesta – of all women who fought and were martyred. They want to impose their will on all of society by attacking women, and create a life, a society, resigned to its fate. But as the YPJ, we say that no-one can influence our mentality, our spirit. They may take our braids, but our dignity and our ideas cannot be eradicated, no matter how viciously they attack.

You can’t annihilate a spirit that seeks liberation, a consciousness that searches for freedom. Maybe they can kill us, but they can’t take our history or our identity. Whenever our friends are martyred, another young person takes on their name and continues their struggle.

You can kill me, I will die, but you can’t kill what I leave behind; you cannot kill my ideas. We know our history, we know that you can kill one, two, even three million people, but you can’t kill an entire people. The Kurdish people have experienced so many massacres. In Shengal, the Yezidis have suffered 74 massacres, yet as a people they have not been lost.

 

This war is increasingly seen as a war between Kurds and Arabs. But you have Arab members – why did they join this struggle? 

It’s not the first time that they’ve sought to create conflict between Arabs and Kurds. It was like this under Assad, it has been like this with HTS in control. Yes, we withdrew from Tabqa, Raqqa, Deir ez-Zor – this was not without reason.

Why? Because they want to create a conflict between Kurds and Arabs. There are thousands of Arabs fighting with us, living together. You can’t say it’s just a war between Kurds and Arabs. We are taking our precautions against this mentality. We have many Arab soldiers, commanders, martyrs, and this continues until today because we all joined for the same reason – to defend this land. We have lived together for a thousand years as Kurds and Arabs.

 

And do you also see it as a war of men against women?

ISIS or HTS are not only attacking this land in order to occupy the earth. No. They want to occupy our identity. Why do we say it’s a male mentality? The male mentality only knows killing, plundering, displacing people… And it’s women who have always fought against this.

Why do they commit these violations against women, like how they treated Hevrin Khalef, Zeynep, Reyhan, those who were martyred? These were women at the forefront of this revolution. They want to eradicate women, to stop women’s struggle. Life is not only eating, drinking, breathing. Life is dignity, life is ethics, life is humanity. Life is free thought. Those who struggle and resist are women, and this is why their attacks on women are so brutal.

However many women struggle for freedom, however great the steps they take, the attacks in response are equally as vast. The closer we get to freedom, the more they attack us, the more their severity against our existence increases. The war we’re fighting now is a war of resistance, for dignity. It’s an existential war. As a people, as women, our identity is under threat. Fighting against us is fighting against freedom.

 

What’s your message for those who ask, why are women carrying guns?

The whole world got to know this revolution through the Battle of Kobane. And after so many years of struggle and war and trying to build, why does this question emerge over and over again? They know why we carry weapons. They are just trying to disrespect us.

As a woman, why did I pick up a weapon? Because I see my people want to live in safety. Because I see my society is under threat, my autonomy is under threat, my identity. To protect myself. Nobody else can protect me. Maybe I have a mother, father, brothers, sisters, but I can pick up a gun and protect myself. Nobody can do it for me. I can protect my way of life.

The jihadists have been attacking us from the beginning of the revolution until today. Who can protect me from them? And I am not saying that using a weapon is the only way to defend myself; no. But if I do not defend myself, I will be without existence, without identity. If I take up arms, I protect my homeland, my people, my dignity. I’m part of this society, and so I have a responsibility to protect it. I can’t wait for a man to come and protect me.

Housewives also have weapons of their own – when they raise children, educate them, this is a weapon. How have I ended up where I am today? If my mother hadn’t raised me as she had, introduced me into this way of thinking and my culture, given me a love for my homeland and my cause, I wouldn’t be here today. Those women who are working in the DAANES civil-society institutions today are also part of our defence. Because they don’t wait for someone else to defend them. If you wait for someone to defend you, you surrender to death.

 

As we know, Rojava’s Kurdish-majority regions are isolated from one another. How can you guarantee your long-term security?

They wanted to cut these regions off from one another. As Kobane was cut off and surrounded, they likewise wanted to cut the main roads between the cities here in Jazira, so they could take control more easily. We said: This is Rojava. It’s a red line for us. This isn’t Deir ez-Zor, it’s Rojava. Whatever happens it will be difficult no matter how much we talk of freedom or defence. As a people, as soldiers, we have a heavy burden. So we must struggle harder.

We’re surrounded, yes. But we are also prepared. We saw how the attacks against Rojava provoked a major response in Bashur [Iraqi Kurdistan], Bakur [Kurdish region in Turkey], in European cities, and it hasn’t stopped. This has an impact. Why? Because it’s become a hope for all peoples. As Kurdish people, we today see Rojava as the heart of Kurdistan. It was Rojava that protected humanity, it was the children of this land. So we’re ready for everything; for war, and for peace and dialogue. We’re the ones who are committed to this agreement. Why? From the start of the revolution until today, we never attacked anyone, and we never wanted to see bloodshed.

The displacement within Syria, especially from Afrin – these people have been displaced four times, from Afrin to Shehba to Aleppo to Raqqa and now to here – it’s something very hard to bear. Also Serekaniye and Gire Spi: this displacement is something hard to bear, and we’re determined to prevent it from repeating.

There is an agreement, but if my rights and my existence, as the peoples of Rojava – Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians – are not guaranteed, not enshrined in the constitution, this struggle will not stop. Our people throughout Kurdistan and our friends internationally must know this: their marches, protests and support strengthens our struggle. Our struggles are united, and they have a great influence. Our struggle won’t stop, in any area.

The attacks may get heavy, but they will have to come through us if they want to get to our land, to Rojava. We saw how the people of Bakur came to us when we were attacked: In 2014, during the war in Kobane, we saw how thousands of people crossed over from Bakur – they didn’t recognize borders. And it’s the same today. It’s the same in Bashur. People do not just sit and watch. This feeling, this spirit, will not stay in one place; it will expand and grow.