Bêrîtan Elyakut/JINHA

KOBANÊ – For hundreds of young women in Rojava, the death of Viyan Amara was a turning point. The fighter, who came to Rojava to defend the revolution that started there in 2013, lost her life on February 26, 2013. Those who knew her say she continues to be an inspiration in Rojava.

Viyan Amara (her nom de guerre) was born Sevim Kaya in Northern Kurdistan. First joining the PKK, where she rose through the ranks, she later traveled to Kobanê to become a teacher. She took part in the first large-scale effort to provide native-language education to Kurdish adults and children alike in Rojava. She lost her life as a fighter, defending the village of Kendal, near GirêSpî, from Daesh attacks in 2013.

"She worked with us like a friend, more than a teacher," recalled CihanHesen, one of Sevim's Kobanê students. Sevim was especially interested in getting to know women in particular. She particularly liked staying with families, in order to get to know her students closely. Cihan's parents became close with her teacher, calling her not "Sevim" but "my daughter."

Cihan said there are similar stories about the teacher "in every home and school in Kobanê."

"There's a little Viyan in every child here," she said, "because Viyan approached all the children, families and women here with a smile and with love."

When the family heard the news that Sevim had been martyred, Cihan said it was the first time she saw her father cry. She said the family felt that one of their own had been taken. Cihan's older sister, ŞirinHesen, currently fights in the YPJ under the nom de guerre ViyanRüstem.

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