Listen here to the daily update:
Dear friends, sisters and comrades,
Today is the 17th February and here is our daily update from Rojava, the heart of the women’s revolution, where right now humanity is being defended.
We begin today’s report with the general situation in Syria, which remains tense. Every day, protests by the population and acts of violence by the Syrian interim government occur in the southern regions of Syria. The protests are primarily directed against the economic situation, rising prices, and the lack of government support.
Currently, voices are being raised, especially in the health sector. The system is overburdened, there are few labor rights, and salaries are low.
Junior doctors in hospitals in southern Latakia protested against the low wages and demanded better working conditions. They announced that they would escalate their actions if their demands were not met within seven days.
In Suweida, also in southern Syria, 90% of clinic services have had to be suspended due to supply shortages and power outages. Hundreds of patients are thus cut off from vital diagnostic and treatment services, and the clinic is on the verge of collapse.
The living crisis in Syria is worsening as the gap between wages and the cost of living continues to widen. The minimum wage, faced with rising inflation and the expansion of the informal economy, covers only a fraction of basic needs.
We are witnessing how the Syrian Transitional Government is unable to govern its country or provide for its people. Like many governments worldwide, its power is based not on popular support, but on violence and support from imperial powers.
Al-Hol Camp
The al-Hol camp, which at the beginning of January housed 21,000 people, mostly ISIS fighter, women, and children, has been evacuated in recent weeks and will likely close soon.
The evacuation was carried out by the Syrian interim government, which had most recently administered the al-Hol camp. Foreign allies were involved in this plan. An organized international repatriation process, including psychological, ideological, and social rehabilitation programs, is completely lacking.
IS fighters, as well as radicalized women and children, are now scattered throughout Syria.
This development carries the risk of a resurgence of IS across Syria. We anticipate risks such as easier communication among IS fighters and organizational structures, and the formation of new IS cells.
Within the camp, recruitment networks developed for children known as “Caliphate Boys,” as well as the organization of religious courts linked to IS. Intimidation through murder and threats is a common tactic used within these structures.
International forces have indirectly participated in the evacuation. Forces such as the UN have withdrawn from the camp since the attacks in January 2026, with the exception of water supply. The US, too, is revealing itself as an indirect actor, given its double standards.
On the one hand, they are bombing IS positions, and on the other hand, they are involved in the release, as they too have withdrawn their troops.
The Yazidi struggle
However, a tense atmosphere prevails not only in Rojava, but also in Shengal, in the Iraqi part of Kurdistan, where representatives of the Yazidi tribes are on high alert.
Concern is fueled primarily by recent statements from Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan Hakan, who hinted at invasions against “structures” in Iraq.
In 2014, IS terrorists committed genocide against the Yazidi population in Shengal, northern Iraq. The extermination and brutal acts of violence, including sexual slavery, against Yazidi women will leave a lasting collective scar.
Due to the current situation and the threats, similar scenarios of displacement and attacks are feared.
In Rojava, Ziad Rustem, the representative of the Syrian Yazidi Union, advocates for a constitutional guarantee of their rights and the official recognition of their religion.
In this context, he emphasizes the importance of democracy and peaceful coexistence, legal protection for their villages, and the establishment of an inclusive Syrian state that guarantees the rights of all population groups and religions without discrimination.
He emphasizes:
“In North and East Syria, the model of Autonomous Administration has proven to be the best example since the beginning of the revolution, as it represents all peoples. Given the diversity of the region under this administration and the active participation of the Yazidis and our people throughout the country, this project should be extended to all of Syria. Therefore, the Syrian Constitution must guarantee the rights of all peoples.”
Many people living under the Autonomous Administration’s societal model of Democratic Confederalism describe this model as a realistic and genuine solution for a democratic Syria.
The grassroots democratic model is based on a commune system in which the population lives in communes of 50–200 people. Each commune is represented by commune spokespersons, who work in a co-chair system. These representatives, in turn, meet in councils with representatives from other communes to discuss current needs, challenges, and concerns. This system expands from communes to districts and then to cantons.
Within the communes, the smallest units, there are various commissions with specific tasks, such as economics, health, education, etc. Each commission also has co-representatives who meet with other commission representatives in councils.
What we see is a model in which people are the active agents of their own lives. They are interconnected, forming a communal community and the strength of society.
This strength is what we are seeing and feeling even now, during the current phases of attack.
Co-Chair
Cooperation itself is a struggle. The individual co-chairs are also integral parts of the commune, because the commune system is the fundamental system that changes the mentality of society.
The commune is the smallest, yet most effective seed. Taking responsibility for the commune system is one of women’s tasks. In this system, each person retains their individuality, but everyone works together and shapes the present and future.
The crucial point of co-chair is not the “women’s quota,” but the fact that no single person holds power.
We don’t need to replace men with women, but rather break the power of the dominant man and replace it with a communal, social, feminine way of thinking. Only in this way can we create a free life in which all genders are liberated from patriarchy.
In Tabqa:
A video circulating online shows several young men – who call themselves the “Tabqa Volunteer Team” – removing posters and signs calling for respect for women’s freedom and greater participation in public life.
In the video, one of the young men says that the writing “doesn’t fit our culture,” rejecting messages that support women’s rights and gender equality. The incident occurred shortly after the Syrian interim government entered the Raqqa and Taqbqa region, amid ongoing political and social upheaval in the area.
The women in Tabqa themselves cannot take to the streets without facing repression, so we stand shoulder to shoulder with them.
We stand up for the rights of women in Tabqa and take our voices to the streets.
Appeal to Women’s Movements
In closing, Ehmed made an explicit appeal to women’s organizations—both in Rojava and internationally. She stated that new political spaces emerge during periods of upheaval; without organization, these opportunities are quickly lost.
She said:
“Defending Rojava means defending the achievements of women as a whole.”
Women must significantly strengthen their voices during this phase and expand their political influence.
With revolutionary greetings from Rojava
