WASHINGTON DC—The women fighters of the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and a Kurdish Yezidi parliamentarian were chosen by CNN this week as the most inspiring women of 2014.
“The female fighters have trained for many years but this year have become notable for their courageous role in the war against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),” reads the CNN posting on the Kurdish fighters.
The Kurdish female fighters who operate under their own unit (YPJ) have been recognized for their brave fight against the Islamic State and their role in defending the besieged Kurdish town of Kobane gained them worldwide respect.
The second woman on CNN’s list is the Kurdish Yezidi lawmaker Vian Dakhil whose emotional plea to world leaders last summer to protect her community against ISIS’s onslaught prompted an international relief effort to tends of thousands of Yezidis on Mount Shingal.
“Vian Dakhil -- Current member of the Iraqi Parliament and the only member of Yazidi origin. Dakhil won the 2014 Anna Politkovskaya Awardrun by human rights organization Reach All Women in War (RAW in WAR), for her campaigns to protect the Yazidi people from the terror of Islamic State,” said CNN.
Every year CNN asks readers, writers, and organizations to nominate and vote for women they believe deserve recognition and the winners are named the “most inspiring women” of the year.
The YPJ female fighters are 4th on CNN list of 15 women. Dakhil has taken the 11th place.
