Kurdish forces consist of both men and women amongst their ranks, fighting side by side against ISIL. These are images of the women who stood their ground together with men against the advancing tide of Islamic radicals.
© AFP 2023 / Delil SouleimanA Kurdish female fighter of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) plays with a puppy in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border.
A Kurdish female fighter of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) plays with a puppy in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, close to the Turkish border.
© AFP 2023 / Safin HamedKurdish Peshmerga female fighters march during a training session conducted by German military instructors in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.
Kurdish Peshmerga female fighters march during a training session conducted by German military instructors in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.
© AFP 2023 / Delil SouleimanKurdish female fighters of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) sit next to a pick-up truck supporting a heavy machine gun at a training camp in al-Qahtaniyah, near the Syrian-Turkish border.
Kurdish female fighters of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) sit next to a pick-up truck supporting a heavy machine gun at a training camp in al-Qahtaniyah, near the Syrian-Turkish border.
© AP Photo / Jake SimkinFemale Kurdish fighter takes aim. Kobani, Syria.
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© AP Photo / Jake Simkin
Female Kurdish fighter takes aim. Kobani, Syria.
© AFP 2023 / Delil SouleimanFemale fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) take a break on the front line in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh.
Female fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) take a break on the front line in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh.
© AP Photo / Jake SimkinKurdish female fighters advance through the contested zone of Kobani, Syria.
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© AP Photo / Jake Simkin
Kurdish female fighters advance through the contested zone of Kobani, Syria.
© REUTERS / Azad lashkariFemale Kurdish Peshmerga take part in a training session at a camp in Banslawa, north of Baghdad.
Female Kurdish Peshmerga take part in a training session at a camp in Banslawa, north of Baghdad.
© AFP 2023 / Delil SouleimanA female fighter from the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) poses for a photo with her weapon in the Syrian town of Ain Issi, some 50 kilometres north of Raqqa, the so called 'capital' of the Islamic State.
A female fighter from the Kurdish People's Protection Unit (YPG) poses for a photo with her weapon in the Syrian town of Ain Issi, some 50 kilometres north of Raqqa, the so called 'capital' of the Islamic State.
© AFP 2023 / Safin HamedFemale peshmerga fighters pose for a photo in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.
Female peshmerga fighters pose for a photo in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.
© AFP 2023 / Delil SouleimanA female fighter from the Kurdish People Protection Unit (YPG) poses for a photo on the front line in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh.
A female fighter from the Kurdish People Protection Unit (YPG) poses for a photo on the front line in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasakeh.