page_title: Kurdish women
section_title: Background and history
hierarchical_section_title: Kurdish women / Kurdish women in Syria / Background and history
caption_attribution_description: English: YPG's female fighter with a standard uniform
context_page_description: Kurdish women have traditionally played important roles in Kurdish society and politics. In general, Kurdish women's rights and equality have improved dramatically in the 21st century due to progressive movements within Kurdish society. However, despite the progress, Kurdish and international women's rights organizations still report problems related to gender inequality, forced marriages, honor killings, and, in Iraqi Kurdistan, female genital mutilation.
context_section_description: While Syria has developed some fairly secular features during independence in the second half of the 20th century, personal status law is still based on Sharia and applied by Sharia Courts.
caption: Member of the YPJ with a standard uniform
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