Observers claim it was inevitable women would begin to join forces Syrian women’s role in the country’s revolution is longer restricted to logistical or moral support, as women begin to join the Free Syrian Army (FSA) in active combat roles. Female militants can now join the Daraa Brigade, named after the seventh-century poet and fighter, to carry out operations against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Seeking to avenge crimes against civilians, the Banat al-Walid Brigade based in Homs has announced it will respond to crimes “committed against the Syrian people and against women in particular.”
Brigade members have denied any affiliations with extremist groups such as al-Qaeda or Jabhat al-Nusra.
Om Jaafer is a female sniper in Aleppo, who joined her husband, a FSA commander, in combat.
This is a trend being witnessed across Syria, though more noticeably in the country’s war-ravaged north.
One Damascus Coordination Committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Arabstoday: “Women have been side-by-side with men since the beginning of this revolution. But with escalating violence, as the regime resorts to brutal militarism, free women are beginning to provide combat support.”
"We didn't have a choice,” one female soldier told Arabstoday. “After our homes were torn down, civilians made homeless and women arrested and raped, we decided to join the armed struggle.”
Some observers claim the systemic crimes committed against women during the 22-month Syrian conflict has made it inevitable that women would join the struggle.
British-based watchdog, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), recently reported that Syrian Kurds had formed a women's battalion in Aleppo, made up of 150 volunteers.
"The Kurdish popular committees have set up the first women's battalion, comprising some 150 women fighters. The battalion is named the Martyr Rokan Battalion," the SOHR reported.