VIDEO: All-female village in Syrian Kurdistan fighting against war and patriarchy

DIRBESIYE, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdistan 24) – Syrian Kurdish women said on Friday that they are setting up an all-female village near the northeast Syrian town of Dirbesiye, along the border with Turkey.

Members of its founding committee told Kurdistan 24 that it started out as just a number of crude mud and concrete shelters, but the village, known as Jinwar, now has 21 houses that were built in the past year.

“The village not only focuses on creating a refuge from war, it also aims to work toward gender equality by empowering women," said Nojin, a member of the Jinwar building committee.

Nojin explained that the village is based on the doctrine of democratic confederalism, focusing on the ideals of democracy, ecology, and women’s liberation.

In addition to the houses, construction is under way for a college, a school, a workshop, and an arts center, as well as livestock, gardens, and orchards.

The project was first announced last year, with the explicit aim of providing a sanctuary for women, free from violence and conflict.

It’s worth mentioning that the builders are all women as well.

The conflict in northern Syria, which began with the country's civil war in 2011 and escalated with the rise of the Islamic State (IS) three years later, provides a contrasting backdrop to, and reference point for, the village.

The founders plan the village to be self-sustaining, with the women able to provide for their own basic needs.

Other participants said the village is their way of trying to mitigate the consequences of the war, while providing women a home free from oppressive violence and patriarchy.

They believe the only way they can evolve in society and challenge unfair male privilege is by separating themselves entirely from the male-dominated violence crippling the country.

According to the members of the building committee, the village is open to all women around the world, regardless of religion or ethnicity. They believe that women can learn from each other’s experiences.

Children are also welcomed in the village, no matter their gender, since the hope is to raise them all in an equal environment where males and females have the same rights.

The aim of the village is to share their experiences as women, but also to rebuild themselves and their relationship to the world at a time of brutal mass violence.

Additionally, a council of “relatives of martyrs” of the Syrian crisis has been created for women who have lost friends or family members in the conflict to share experiences and mourn together.

Editing by John J. Catherine

(Additional reporting by Kurdistan 24 correspondent Lava Asaad in Rojava)