Female combat commanders of the YPJ and political agency – framing the fight on their own terms

ABSTRACT Women have taken part in several insurgencies. Research shows that women resort to violence not only for private reasons but also as a means to achieve political goals. The aim of this study is to explore how high-ranking YPJ commanders’ frame their decision to first joint the PKK and their use of violence as founding members of the YPJ. This is done with the help of a thematic analysis of life history interviews with three YPJ commanders in the midst of the civil war in Syria. The focus is on how the interviewees frame the themes. When highlighting some aspect of reality over other aspects, for example, in the context of a conflict, frames act to define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgements, and suggest remedies. The study argues that the respondents’ framing connected their personal experiences with broader ideology. Thus, personal experiences can lead to embracing a broader ideology such that they motivate women to join the violent struggle. Three themes emerged from the analysis: Patriarchy; inspiring examples; and global liberation and democracy. These explorative results suggest a corresponding three-stage analytical framework for analysing how women join militant movements during civil wars: Personal experiences that define the problem and prepare the ground for action; other women’s roles as pathbreakers making the previously seemingly impossible action appear possible; and finally, the formulation of a political goal to guide action. This framework focuses on agency as inherently relational.