Iraq

In August 2014, ISIS moved to the Sinjar area of Iraq and began to persecute, capture and kill its minority Yazidi population–an ancient, mainly Kurdish people. Female Kurdish soldiers were instrumental in the Kurdish counteroffensive, rescuing thousands of Yazidis trapped by ISIS on Mount Sinjar. The women have since extended their fight against radical militants. 

The film, Gulistan, Land of Roses, by Zayne Akyol, was shown at the 2017 Margaret Mead Film Festival in New York. It follows a female unit in the PKK, in Kurdistan, Iraq, showing them training, working and living together as a community. They are united in their determination to defeat ISIS and to bring about freedom for all.

See the trailer for this award winning film Gulistan, Land of Roses

More information on female Iraqi soldiers can be found in the following article: Meet the Kurdish Women Fighting ISIS