The Daughters of Kobani, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

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The Daughters of Kobani, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon: Episode 1

Episode 1

BBC Radio 4 - The Daughters of Kobani, by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, Episode 1

The extraordinary story of the women who took on the Islamic State and won.

The author was taking a break from war reporting, but when she heard about the Syrian Kurdish women fighting on the front lines, she knew she had to find out more.

In 2014, north eastern Syria might have been the last place you would expect to find a revolution centred on women's rights. But that year, an all-female militia faced off against Isis in a little town few had ever heard of - Kobani. 

By then, the Islamic State had swept across vast swathes of the country, taking town after town and spreading terror as the civil war burned all around it. 

From that unlikely showdown in Kobani emerged a fighting force that would wage war against ISIS across northern Syria alongside the United States. In the process, these women would spread their own political vision, determined to make women's equality a reality by fighting - house by house, street by street, city by city - the men who bought and sold women.

Based on years of on-the-ground reporting, The Daughters of Kobani is the unforgettable story of the women of the Kurdish militia that improbably became part of the world's best hope for stopping ISIS in Syria. Drawing from hundreds of hours of interviews, author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon introduces us to the women fighting on the front lines, determined to not only extinguish the terror of ISIS but also prove that women could lead in war and must enjoy equal rights come the peace.

'An extraordinary account of brave, defiant women fighting for justice and equality' - Hillary Clinton

Read by Sarah Lambie

Abridged by Polly Coles
Produced by Clive Brill
A Brill production for BBC Radio 4

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