Women Fighters in the Kurdish National Movement

Engaging with a vast body of literature on power, colonialism, and gender Topal offers an original and insightful study of the multifaceted experiences of women fighters and the evolution of gender relations within the Kurdish movement across generations. Pursuing an interpretivist approach informed by in-depth interviews and multiple site visits, his work represents the state-of-the art in qualitative methods in Kurdish studies. * Günes Murat Tezcür, Professor, Arizona State University, USA *
This unique study gives us insights into the lives, perceptions, and goals of Kurdish women fighters. Theoretically inspired by Donna Haraway and Karen Barad, Mustafa Topal shows, how the women fighters living in the mountains recreate themselves as free women in interaction with nature. His study of the political structures in autonomous Rojava reveals how the women fighters’ gender ideas have influenced local Kurdish communities. * Drude Dahlerup, Professor, Stockholm University, Sweden. *
Based on extensive fieldwork in Iraq, Syria and Europe under particularly challenging and partly dangerous circumstances, this book provides a deep and touching analysis of women fighters' gender struggle in the Kurdish freedom movement seen from their own perspective. Topal’s book shows how revolutionary the women fighters' gender struggle is for the PKK and for the broader freedom movement as such and how it has inspired women in large parts of the world. * Kariane Westrheim , Professor, University of Bergen, Norway *