Jin  ·  Jiyan  ·  Azadî

Women Who Refused to be Silenced

Kurdish women have stood on the front lines of history — against ISIS, against oppression, against the erasure of their people. This is their story.

Meet the Fighters Jin·Jiyan·Azadî
"We are fighting not just for Kurdistan — we are fighting for all of humanity. A world where women are free is a world where everyone is free."
— YPJ Commander, Kobanî Front, 2014
Jin Jiyan Azadî — artwork by QP, ArtMajeur
Artwork: Jin Jiyan Azadî — QP / ArtMajeur
"We are fighting not just for Kurdistan — we are fighting for all of humanity. A world where women are free is a world where everyone is free."
— YPJ Commander, Kobanî Front, 2014
134
Days Kobanî Was Defended
7,000+
Yazidi Women Enslaved by ISIS
160
Countries — Jin Jiyan Azadî
2019
Year ISIS Caliphate Fell
Stories & Analysis

Featured Articles

In-depth reporting and essays on Kurdish women's resistance, their history, and their fight for freedom.

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Profile

Arin Mirkan: The Sacrifice That Saved Kobanî

On 5 October 2014, a 23-year-old Kurdish woman walked towards ISIS positions on a hill above Kobanî and changed the cour…

Editorial Team 20 March 2026
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Jin·Jiyan·Azadî

Jin, Jiyan, Azadî: The Kurdish Roots of a Global Movement

When Iranian protesters chanted "Woman, Life, Freedom" after Jina Amini's death in 2022, they were speaking Kurdish and …

Editorial Team 20 March 2026
History

The Women Who Broke ISIS: How the YPJ Changed Modern Warfare

When ISIS swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, it believed its ideology of female subjugation was invincible. It had not…

Editorial Team 16 January 2025
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Jin

Woman

In Kurdish philosophy, women are not merely half of society — they are the foundation of its liberation. No political freedom is possible while women remain oppressed.

Jiyan

Life

The right to a full, dignified, and self-determined life. The name Jina means life in Kurdish — the name on Jina Mahsa Amini's gravestone, which her family insisted upon.

Azadî

Freedom

Political, personal, and cultural liberty. The word Hürriyet shares its meaning: freedom in every language that dares to speak it.

The Kurdish Roots of a Global Movement

When millions chanted Jin, Jiyan, Azadî across Iran, Europe and beyond in 2022, they were speaking Kurdish. The words, the philosophy, and the courage behind them were born in the mountains of Kurdistan.

When Jina Mahsa Amini died in Iranian custody in September 2022, the world heard her people call her by her real Kurdish name — Jina. That name means life. Her gravestone bears it.

Read more about the movement →

Profiles

Notable Fighters & Icons

Women who stood on the front lines — in battle, in protest, in the struggle for humanity's freedom.

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Arin Mirkan

YPJ Commander — Martyred in Kobanî, 2014

Arin Mirkan was a Kurdish female fighter who became a symbol of resistance during the Battle of Kobanî. On 5 October 201…

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Joanna Palani

"Joanna"
International Volunteer Fighter, YPJ/Peshmerga

Joanna Palani is a Kurdish-Danish woman who left her studies in Copenhagen to fight ISIS alongside the YPJ and Peshmerga…

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Maysa Abdo

"Narin Afrin"
Commander, Kobanî Canton YPG/YPJ Forces

Maysa Abdo, known by her nom de guerre Narin Afrin, commanded the joint YPG/YPJ forces defending Kobanî during the 2014–…

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