Zerîn Kurtay- Roksana Efrîn/JINHA

QAMIŞLO - Women serving in Rojava's Asayish peacekeeping service say that it is time for women to take charge of one another's safety.

The peacekeeping force called the Women's Asayish Organization was founded at the beginning of the Rojava revolution in 2011 with the goal of building a structure whereby women depended on one another, not men, for protection. "Asayish" means peacekeeping. In Rojava, the work of women asayish members involves dealing with and helping to solve any kind of injustice or mistreatment reported by women in the community.

Ayten Ferhat, who serves in the managing body of all peacekeeping forces across the three Rojava cantons, said that young women volunteer to be peacekeepers in particularly high numbers in Rojava.

Members of the Women's Asayish Organization frequently attend educational programs--not just in matters of security, but in politics, history and culture. Members also take part in debates and criticism sessions to question their habits and improve themselves. According to Ayten, these educational programs helped give women the self-confidence to carry out their jobs. At the same time, seeing women peacekeepers on the job has a positive effect on women in the community, she said.

"Now is the time for women to take ownership over their own rights," said Ayten.

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