In memory of Viyan and all Kurdish female fighters
“WE WANT TO GIVE WOMEN THEIR LEGITIMATE PLACE IN SOCIETY AND TO GIVE THEM THE POWER TO CHOOSE THEIR OWN DESTINY. VIYAN DIED FOR THESE IDEALS”
Born into a Kurdish family, Inter Asia, also known under the pseudonym Viyan Antar, she married very young in a marriage arranged by her family. However, after three months, was able to divorce thanks to new laws in the Kurdish region following the Rojava conflict, prohibiting arranged marriages and polygamy. In 2014, after the divorce, she joined the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) with the ideal of fighting for the emancipation of women from the hands of patriarchal oppression in the region.
Antar attracted international attention in 2015 when a photojournalist took pictures of her and described her as “the Kurdish Angelina Jolie”. Many media sites picked up the photos and also compared Asia with the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz. Asia Antar was killed during an attack in the city of Manbij after participating in the liberation of the city from the hands of the Islamic State in the Manbij offensive.
Although initial reports indicated that she and other People's Protection Unit fighters (YPG) they had died near Jarabulus following attacks by the Free Syrian Army, these rumors were denied when the YPJ spokesman confirmed that Asia Antar had died in an attack by the Islamic State
When he died, media and news headlines reported the news as “Kurdish Angelina Jolie is dead”, emphasizing at all times the physical resemblance between the two and rarely discussing her participation in the fight against ISIS. This continuous comparison with the actress was harshly condemned by supporters of the Kurdish cause and other fighters who defined the comparison as sexist and objectifying
The downplaying of her as a person has been seen as humiliating by many Kurdish activists. Choman Canaan, Kurdish activist and fighter who has repudiated the Western media's treatment of the events in Asia, he told the BBC that “The entire philosophy of the YPJ is to combat sexism and prevent the use of women as sexual objects”, in reference to the YPJ's position on sexism. He further added: “We want to give women their rightful place in society and empower them to choose their own destinies. Viyan died for these ideals. In the media, no one spoke of the ideals for which he gave his life, nor what Viyan has done for women in Rojava in the last four years”.
