First published 2021
In 2014, an all-female Kurdish militia stood against the Islamic State in the Syrian town of Kobani. As ISIS swept across northern Syria, these women warriors mounted an unlikely defense that would grow into something larger. Author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years conducting on-the-ground reporting and hundreds of hours of interviews to document their story. She follows the female fighters who battled ISIS house by house and street by street, driven by twin missions: defeating the terrorists who bought and sold women, and proving that women could lead in combat. The militia earned support from U.S. Special Operations Forces as they helped deliver the territorial defeat of ISIS. Lemmon shows how these fighters pursued not just military victory but a broader vision of women's rights in their region. The book reveals how an improbable group of women became central to the global fight against ISIS while working to transform gender relations in their corner of the Middle East.
Genres: non-fiction, 21st-century, military-history, activism
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: female-protagonist, found-family, underdog
Setting: Kobani, Syria
Period: 2014
288 pages · Hardcover · Penguin Press
Content warnings: violence