Video: Female Jidahi Group 'Equal To Men' Emerges In Syria

By R. Siva Kumar - 12 Apr '15 18:11PM

There is a new video in YouTube that shows a strange crowd of Syrian jihadi female fighters, with no link to the Islamic State. They are Islamists based in Aleppo, who want "to fight for our religion and our country," and be the "equal of men," according to rt.

It is a five-minute video that has several dozen women in their black burqas brandishing AK47 rifles and shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is Great) as well as more slogans. They seem to be clustered before some of the most ancient churches in the area, the church of Saint Simeon Stylites, situated in the north west of Syria, Aleppo.

"The role of a woman is no less important than that of a man," one of the female jihadis says in the video, according to newsweek. Many experts say that the role of the women in the video may be defensive, rather than offensive like the IS group.

"We learnt shooting, and assembling weapons technically, and various other things," the female fighter said. "This is so we stand in one line, shoulder to shoulder, with our sons and the men in the battlefields..."

Another sister in the video showed "45 sisters trained in marking and shooting" moving from Aleppo to Idlib, then Daraa and finally to "the center of Sham [Syria]".

Although they do not seem to be linked to the ISIS or the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra front, Charlie Winter, member of the anti-extremism think-tank Quilliam said that although the format is like that exhibited by the militant groups, the site of training is not under the Islamic State control.

"They say they have come together to train and to defend their people and land. But, while 'jihadist' is probably the most appropriate term to describe them, they are clearly not aligned with groups such as ISIS," Winter said. The target of the video was also not western viewers.

The 5th century Church of Saint Simeon, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2011, is situated on the site of the pillar of St. Simeon Stylites. The hermit monk is on top of the 15-meter tall pillar for 37 years, giving lessons to pilgrim visitors.

The IS controls an all-female group called the Al-Khanssaa Brigade, which came out with guidelines for women called 'Women of the Islamic State: Manifesto and Case Study'. While encouraging small girls of nine years to get married, it also explains her domestic role and responsibilities, and that it is her role to remain "hidden and veiled," and "knitting and cooking".