Rosa Gilbert // Kurdish women call for YES vote | LookLeft

25.5.18

Kurdish women call for YES vote | LookLeft: Officially in Syria, women’s reproductive rights are similar to those in Ireland – abortion is only legally permitted when it is necessary to save a woman’s life. Since the growth of autonomous governance including over healthcare in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria (DFNS/Rojava), abortion has been made accessible for all women. Beritan, a French volunteer in the YPJ, explained how in a conservative culture in which premarital sex was still very taboo, there remains a gap between the feminist ideology of the YPJ and the reality of daily life. Dr Nasan Adhmed, a women’s doctor in Kobane, described the impact of this development of abortion rights in Rojava, stating that if a woman’s life is under threat from her husband or family for seeking abortion, the medics ensure she is protected in coordination with the Asay�sh Jin, the dedicated women’s police force. They also ensure as a priority that no moral judgment is passed when they assess the situation, since culturally it can still be difficult to look for help during a crisis pregnancy.