Women achieved great success in 2019 under the leadership of the YPJ (Women's Defence Units) and liberated North and East Syria from ISIS mercenaries.

YPJ General Command Member, Roj Dêrsim, spoke to ANHA about the role of the YPJ and its achievements in 2019.

Dêrsim said that the participation in the YPJ has increased with the destruction of ISIS. "We have seen an increased in our ranks membership especially from Arab women in Raqqa, Tabqa, Manbij and Deir Ezzor, places where people were heavily repressed and hit by ISIS members. Women were enslaved and deprived of all rights. After the liberation of these regions by the SDF and the YPJ, women began to learn about their rights. Consequently they then started to join the YPJ with great enthusiasm."

2019 was a year of great achievements

Stating that 2019 was a year of success for the YPJ, Dêrsim, continued: "We consider 2019 a successful year. In 2020, our goal as YPJ will be to free all women from persecution. In 2020, our resistance will continue resolutely against all kinds of attacks both from inside and outside. Our struggle against the male-dominated mentality will continue. Our struggle will continue until all women are free."

On the path of the martyrs

Pledging to follow the path of the martyrs, Dêrsim said: "Our struggle continues. We repeat our promise to follow the path of the martyrs in the struggle for freedom and honor. Hevrîn, Amara, Sara and the other martyrs have impregnated this land with their sacred blood. Our martyrs became a symbol of resistance and sacrifice."