YPJ celebrates 13th anniversary

The Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) celebrates its 13th anniversary on 4 April, also marking the 76th birthday of imprisoned Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan, noting the influence Öcalan’s paradigm had on the organisation of a women’s only military organisation and highlighting the international nature of the YPJ’s struggle. They also remembered the martyrs who were killed while fighting in their ranks.

The ceremony held at the Serdem Hall in the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, was attended by YPJ commanders and fighters as well as representatives of women’s organizations in the city. The hall was decorated with the photographs of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and the women who lost their lives while fighting for freedom and the flags of the YPJ.

‘The YPJ has become the identity of all women’

Following the military ceremony and a minute’s silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the struggle for freedom, YPJ commander Newroz Ehmed made a speech. “We have been building our defense forces thanks to the thoughts and ideology of leader Apo,” she said. “The YPJ has become an army, a women’s force. The YPJ fought and defeated ISIS. The recent resistance of the YPJ on the Tishreen Dam and the Qereqozax Bridge shows the world that no one can break the will of free women. The YPJ fighters fight against the invaders with all their strength and will. The YPJ has become the identity of all women. We will ensure the physical freedom of leader Apo with our power and struggle and support the historic ‘Call for Peace and Democratic Society’ made by leader Apo.”

The YPJ received many messages from different countries, celebrating the 13th anniversary of the YPJ. After a folk dance performance, the celebration ended.

In a statement, the YPJ General Command emphasised the importance Öcalan had on the development of the YPJ and that YPJ became a resource of strength and inspiration for Syrian women and women in the whole world:

“Today, we celebrate with great enthusiasm and pride the 13th anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Protection Units. On this glorious day—which also marks the birthday of Leader Apo, a symbol of the struggle for equality and justice—we once again salute the strength of resistance and international solidarity.

On this great day, we honor with deep respect and gratitude all the heroic martyrs of the Women’s Protection Units, and we renew our pledge to carry on the struggle. Our brave martyrs gave their lives for their homeland and people, becoming icons of the fight for independence and freedom. The greatest value they left us as a legacy is the right to live freely on this land. Our martyrs are our strength and our honor. Their memory will live in our hearts forever.

On this significant day, we proudly and wholeheartedly salute all the fighters of the Women’s Protection Units and the courageous internationalist fighters who have fought since 2013 against mercenaries and occupying forces in the war for freedom.

We also strongly condemn and denounce the remnants of ISIS, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, who carried out a coup on November 27, 2024, under the pretense of being against the Ba’ath regime. Under this claim, they killed everyone who stood in their way, committing crimes against humanity—particularly against our Alawite people.

Our tireless struggle has become a guiding light for Syrian women and for all women around the world. The Women’s Protection Units defended the freedom of all peoples, and to this day remain a source of strength and inspiration for women, peoples, and humanity. The Women’s Protection Units were founded in 2013 as part of the women’s freedom movement in Rojava, and within a short period of time became internationally recognized for their resistance against ISIS mercenaries. This unprecedented resistance against ISIS’s brutality was not only a military battle—it was also a struggle for women’s freedom, identity, and dignity.

The Women’s Protection Units have become a symbol of women’s resistance and freedom—not only in Rojava, but throughout the world. This resistance has nurtured hope and a yearning for freedom and social equality—not only for the women and peoples of Rojava, but for all the women and peoples of the world.

The ideas of Leader Apo on freedom, equality, democracy, and social justice formed the cornerstone of the Women’s Protection Units’ struggle. Leader Apo believes that the freedom of women will pave the way for the freedom of society. This perspective has become the foundation for an ever-growing struggle—not only in Rojava, but around the world.

On this important day, April 4th, we do not only celebrate the resistance of the Women’s Protection Units against ISIS, but also the concept of freedom and equality developed by Leader Apo and gifted to all women. Through Leader Apo’s philosophy, the Women’s Protection Units embraced an internationalist identity, and on that basis, women from all over the world joined the revolution. Within the ranks of the Women’s Protection Units, women from diverse cultures and identities came together, fighting side by side in the same trenches against ISIS mercenaries, thus establishing a strong international unity. This internationalist unity is vital for the freedom of all women and all peoples.

The Women’s Protection Units did not only fight against ISIS, but also against the global structure of power. This struggle, waged on behalf of all women and peoples, is the legacy of Leader Apo’s thoughts and beliefs. Today, on the anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Protection Units, we draw inspiration from the strength of the resistance and the philosophy of freedom developed by Leader Apo. With this strength, we continue to move forward with greater determination on the path of freedom, equality, and justice. With this memory and belief, we celebrate and honor this great day once again.

The freedom of women is the freedom of peoples. The struggle of the Women’s Protection Units is not the struggle of one people alone, but the struggle of all humanity. Together, we will take stronger steps toward international solidarity. With this faith, we once again extend our congratulations to all women and peoples on the anniversary of the founding of the Women’s Protection Units and the birthday of Leader Apo.”

Newroz Ehmed: “Problem of women’s freedom is even deeper than the national problem”

Newroz Ehmed, a member of the YPJ’s General Command, also gave an interview on the 13th anniversary of their founding, describing the situation out of which the YPJ emerged and the impact the YPJ’s resistance has had within society.

Ehmed emphasised that the YPJ emerged in the time of the Arab spring, which spread through many Middle Eastern countries, as a result of the longstanding politics of oppression and denial against Kurds in Syria and as an organised force to fight for women’s freedom.

She added that the YPJ is based on the ideology of women’s liberation developed by Abdullah Öcalan and that they consider the “problem of women’s freedom to be even deeper than the national problem”. She emphasised how the organisation of the YPJ as a women’s military force has had an impact on women in society as they have been able to get to know themselves and their strength and build self-confidence, which in turn has had an impact on men in society.

“Before, the sole role of women was to serve men,” Ehmed continued, stressing that the organisation was also always a fight against patriarchal role concepts in society.

Ehmed also remembered the heavy sacrifices, such as the thousands of women martyrs who gave their lives fighting in the ranks of the YPJ, and clarified it is important to remember that they choose to fight and sacrifice their lives “for themselves, and not because it was forced upon them”.

YPJ condems the massacre against Alawites

The YPJ harshly condemned the recent attacks of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the massacres against the Alawite community in the coastal regions of Syria, in which over 1,000 civilians were killed.