The Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces (Classical Syriac: ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܢܫ̈ܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ, romanized: Ḥaylawotho d'Sutoro d'Neshe d'Beth Nahrin; HSNB) is an all-female Assyrian military and police organization based in al-Qahtaniyah, al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria.
| Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces | |
|---|---|
| ܚܝܠܘ̈ܬܐ ܕܣܘܬܪܐ ܕܢܫ̈ܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܢܗܪܝܢ | |
 Emblem of HSNB | |
| Dates of operation | September 2015[1] – present |
| Allegiance | Syriac Union Party[2] |
| Headquarters | Al-Qahtaniyah, al-Hasakah Governorate, Syria[3] |
| Active regions | Al-Hasakah Governorate Khabur River valley Raqqa Governorate |
| Ideology | Dawronoye |
| Part of |  Syrian Democratic Forces[4]
|
| Allies | Sutoro Martyr Amara Arab Women's Battalion[5] |
| Opponents |  Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Battles and wars | Syrian Civil War |
HSNB was set up as a female brigade of the Syriac Military Council and assumes guard roles in areas where Assyrians reside.[3]
HSNB includes military & police forces. The police section of HSNB has offices in Gozarto, likewise for the military section, academies & military points.
History
editThe Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces was formed on the first day of September 2015. During the announcement of the formation, the group declared that it will fight under the guidance of the Syriac Union Party, ally with the Assyrian group Sutoro, and "improve the values of Syriac people, women’s rights and to act with solidarity with other nations’ women and to struggle against the reactionarism."[1]
On 6 November 2016, the HSNB announced that it would partake in the Raqqa offensive alongside the MFS and Kurdish and Arab forces of the Syrian Democratic Forces[8][6]
Ideology
editThe Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces follow the Dawronoye ideology, a secular left-wing Assyrian nationalist movement tracing back to the 1980s in Midyat, Turkey. [9]
Shamiran Shimon, the head of the Syriac Women's Union (SWU) in Syria, announced that the HSNB was to be formed as Assyrian women in Syria had been obscured and persecuted by the masculine communities in the region.
The HSNB was formed to guarantee equal rights for Assyrian women in Syria and counters the constraints religious figures in the region have placed on women and the ideals of feminism.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Bethnahrin Women Protection Forces Founded against ISIS". BIA News. 2 September 2015.
- ^ "Syriac-Assyrian Christians in Syria warn: "we will defend ourselves against a Turkish invasion" - Syriac International News Agency". 20 February 2016. Archived from the original on May 2, 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b Delil Souleiman (13 December 2015). "Christian female fighters take on IS in Syria". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2017.
- ^ a b c "Assyrian Female Fighters Joined Battlefronts Against ISIS in Northeastern Syria".
- ^ "SDF about forming first Arab all-female brigade - ANHA". en.hawarnews.com. Archived from the original on 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
- ^ a b "SDF marching on Raqqa is mix of ethnicities, religions, genders". Rudaw Media Network. 7 November 2016.
- ^ "Joint press conference of SDF, Syriac Military Council, Women Protection Forces Beth Nahrin". Hawar News. 1 November 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Raqqa Liberation Campaign "Wrath of the Euphrates"". Bethnahrain Women's Protection Forces. 6 November 2016.
- ^ "The Revolutionaries of Bethnahrin". 25 May 2015.
- ^ "Syriac women will join Kurdish female fighters to combat ISIS terrorists: Leader - ARA News". 31 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 May 2017. Retrieved 30 January 2017.