Today marks the tenth anniversary of the foundation of the YPJ (Yekîneyên Parastina Jin - Women's Defense Units).

As one of the commanders, Nesrin Abdullah, underlined, "the YPJ were not suddenly founded by resolution from above, and they did not just come into existence. They were founded on the basis of consciousness, on a scientific basis. The history of women worldwide and Kurdish women has been researched and interpreted. The decision to build up their own women's forces is based on scientific findings. In order to enable a strong foundation, preparations for the necessary substructure have been made."

Abdullah said that "our first finding in the start-up phase was the existing need for specific women's units for self-defense. Second, we realized that such an organization would not be possible without ideology. An ideological participation was necessary, the pure accession was not enough. If women did not trust themselves and their own strength and had no consciousness, there would have been no difference. Women would have carried weapons and men as well. That's why the women's liberation ideology was essential to us.

There has also been a debate on the standard of acceptance and rejection of women and the question of their own organization. In addition to the positive factors such as the trust that was placed in us and the growing determination and perseverance, there were also many difficulties."