SYRIA. Serikani. Rojava. Zilan Orkesh, 18, from Amuda. She joined YPJ in 2011. "After the revolution, they brought a female martyr from Qandil. When I saw that, I was quite impressed and decided to join YPJ. In our community of Kurdish people, I want to find my freedom and know myself. YPJ allowed me to do that. Since I joined YPJ, I have had the feeling that I am equal to men and I am no less than what they are. I fought with ISIS in Serikani. I killed one of their fighters. At first it was difficult, but then I got used to the idea and it became normal for me. When I killed the man, I started cheering loudly so his fellow fighters would hear me and know that a woman had killed their friend. We were a group of five YPJ and five YPG members when we killed 30 ISIS fighters. We told the men that we wanted to bury them. But we did not decapitate the bodies. Fighting in this war empowered me to get my rights myself and do not wait for them to be given to me. I feel like a free woman now."