The young women taking aim at ISIS

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kurdish-female-teen-fighters-on-front-line-against-isis-in-syria/

By Holly Williams September 29, 2014

MAHMOODIN, Syria

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The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) controls territory on both sides of the border -- land the group refers to as the "Islamic State." But in northeastern Syria, they're meeting resistance from a rag-tag army of Kurdish fighters, and we wanted to meet them.

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a Kurdish commander, Omran Hussein, has set up camp.

A strapping former tailor who never stops smiling and pairs his military fatigues with a flower-patterned headscarf, Commander Hussein has just 40 soldiers to hold off ISIS.

"Not enough," he told us, "but they're all I have."

Ten of his fighters are women -- some of them teenagers -- and according to Commander Hussein, they're some of his best soldiers.

"There's no difference between the men and the women," he said. "Some of them are even better fighters than I am."

One of them is 19-year-old Akina Akin, a five-foot tall dynamo who's already battle hardened after two years of fighting.

We asked her if she was frightened of being captured by ISIS -- which has become notorious for kidnapping and raping women and girls in its territory.

"I'm not afraid," she said with a defiant toss of her head. "I'll blow myself up before I let them catch me."

In ISIS territory women must cover their faces, and everyone is subject to a strict version of Islamic law. The Kurdish fighters are also Muslims, but they follow a very different version of Islam.

Asked if ISIS -- as it claims -- practices a "pure" form of Sunni Islam, Commander Hussein guffawed.

"I might be a bit Westernized, but I'm still a Muslim," he told us. "ISIS is killing people, and real Muslims don't kill innocent civilians."

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But Commander Hussein told us that, so far, the air campaign has had little impact on the ground.

He's still hopeful, though, that the U.S. will come to the rescue -- with more airstrikes, and a desperately-needed infusion of weapons to battle the well-armed extremists.

"Tell America we need weapons," he said. "If we can't defeat ISIS, their next target will be Europe and the U.S."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kurdish-women-take-fight-to-isis-in-northern-syria/

War in the land of women

By Holly Williams September 29, 2014

MAHMOODIN, Syria

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What we didn't expect to find was a society that -- unusual in the Middle East -- appeared to be dominated by women.

A mile away from ISIS positions we met four young female soldiers. The oldest was 24, the youngest only 19. All of them were students before they joined up.

Middle Eastern communities tend to be more conservative than those in the West. Segregation is common, and many Muslim women cover their heads as an act of religious piety.

But dressed in combat fatigues, their heads uncovered and mixing freely with the male soldiers, the women fighters saw nothing unusual in playing a role in active combat. Their commander told us that about a third of the fighting force in Syrian Kurdistan is made up of women.

"I'll stay and fight for as long as it takes to defeat them, as long as I live," said Akina Akin, who at 19 is already a battle-hardened warrior.

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In the nearby Kurdish town of Rmaylan, however, the regional government seemed to be almost entirely staffed by women. The head of the government is Hadiya Yusuf, who told us she spent two years in a Syrian government prison after pushing for democratic reforms.

Yusuf pulled no punches when we asked her about the American airstrikes in Syria, which began a week ago.

"We don't think they're hitting the right targets," she told us, suggesting the U.S. might want to communicate with her administration.

Over cups of sweet tea after our interview, one of Yusuf's assistants told us her team was "fighting for all women, everywhere."

The powerful role of Kurdish women in Syria is no aberration. Across the border to the north in Turkey, where the Kurdish minority has a tense relationship with Turkish authorities, Kurdish women also play key roles in the political leadership.

Our Kurdish translator Omar Omar has a theory about why women have become more powerful in Kurdish communities than in many other Middle Eastern societies.

"We've spent centuries fighting wars with Arabs and Persians," he told us, "and they've always tried to force their version of Islam on us. In reaction, we've gone the other way, and become more liberal."