Zerîn Kurtay-Roksan Efrin/JINHA

QAMIŞLO - Single mother Rihan Tahir has resisted the pressure of society to build a life fighting for the revolution in Rojava.

As the Rojava autonomous region of Syria approaches three years of revolution, there are thousands of stories here waiting to be told. One of them is the story of Rihan Tahir. When the Rojava revolution's military campaign began on July 19, 2012, Rihan's husband Kesra joined the ranks of the YPG, the revolutionary defense force. Kesra died soon afterward in the battle to defend the place where he lived. When he died, their son Bahoz was not yet two years old.

Rihan's family pressured her to remarry, but she resisted the traditional practice. Rather than yield to the social pressure, Rihan--then working in the municipal government--joined the armed revolution. She joined the Asayesh, the peacekeeping force that defends her city from attacks.

"We promised that we would stand up for the peoples' revolution," were Rihan's first words as she told her story. She refers to Kesra as not just her husband, but her comrade. Now, she continues that spirit of comradeship, whatever the social pressure to return to the home.

"They told me to remarry, but I didn't accept it," she said. "And I'll struggle until this perception is gone in society. I won't give in to the things pushed on me; I want to be a free person."

Rihan's son Bahoz was born with his hand in the air. When Kesra saw this, he said, "This child is going to be a revolutionary when he grows up. His name should be Bahoz." Bahoz in Kurdish means "tempest." Rihan said she intends to raise her son, a child of the revolution, in this spirit.

"Society thinks women can't do anything by themselves, but me and women like me have shown them that women can stand on their own," said Rihan. "I'm both a mother and a father for my child. I can run my home. And I also work to honor the memories of those martyred."

Rihan hopes to build a better future for her son, in which he can experience his native Kurdish culture, something denied to her by the Ba'ath regime.

"We grew up without our language or our culture. As a people and as women, we lived under domination," she said. "But today is the day for women to know themselves and to rebel."

(rb/şg/fk/cm)