Christian women join fight against ISIS: 'I'm a practicing Christian and thinking about my children makes me stronger:'

'I'm not afraid of Daesh, and we will be present in the coming battles against the terrorists.'

With the knowledge that ISIS fears death by women, more and more Christian women have left behind their lives to join a Christian female militia in Syria.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - One 36-year-old soldier from the Syriac Christian minority told AFP she feels her participation in the war is creating a safer future for her children.

"I miss Limar and Gabriella and worry that they must be hungry, thirsty and cold. But I try to tell them I'm fighting to protect their future," she said.

Another fighter, Christian Ormia, put her education on hold to join what is called the Female Protection Forces of the Land Between the Two Rivers.

Members of the Female Protection Forces of the Land Between the Two Rivers are following the example set by other all-female units, such as the YPG and PKK.

Currently, the Land Between the Two Rivers group is small, but is expected to grow as a single camp has produced roughly fifty graduates and has seen an increase in women encouraged to join. 

One woman, Babylonia, admitted her husband encouraged her to leave their children to join the militia. Her husband is a soldier as well, and asked that she "fight against the idea that the Syriac woman is good for nothing except housekeeping and make-up," she said. 

"I'm a practising Christian and thinking about my children makes me stronger and more determined in my fight against Daesh (ISIS)," Babylonia added.

The unit's first real fight came alongside Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish coalition comprised of Christian and Arab fighters. Together, the teams recaptured Al-Hol.

Eighteen-year-old Lucia said, "I took part in a battle for the first time in the Al-Hol area, but my team wasn't attacked by IS. I fight with a Kalashnikov, but I'm not ready to become an elite sniper yet."

Another 18-year-old girl admitted she was terrified during her first battle. "I was afraid of the noise of cannons firing, but the fear quickly went away. I would love to be on the front line in the fight against the terrorists," she said.

Twenty-four-year-old Thabirta Samir said local and "foreign forces" help train the all-female group, but did not specify who the foreign trainers were.

Many of the women who joined the unit hailed from cities that fell prey to ISIS, such as 18-year-old Ithraa, who said, "We are a community that is oppressed by others," adding that the community hoped to prevent "a new massacre like that committed by the Ottomans... when they tried to erase our Christian and Syriac identity."

---

The California Network is the Next Wave in delivery of information and entertainment on pop culture, social trends, lifestyle, entertainment, news, politics and economics. We are hyper-focused on one audience, YOU, the connected generation. JOIN US AS WE REDEFINE AND REVOLUTIONIZE THE EVER-CHANGING MEDIA LANDSCAPE.