Memories of a Canadian female warrior who participated in the fight against IS in Syria

Canadian woman recalls a year of fighting IS with Kurdish militia in Syria.

Hanna Bohman (second from right) with female YPJ fighters. Photo: War is Boring.

"I was always interested in the military but never joined the armed forces because they don't allow women to fight. One of the reasons I joined the Women's Defense Units (YPJ) was because of their all-female composition," Hanna Bohman, a female volunteer fighter fighting against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) in Syria, recalled to War is Boring.

Hanna Bohman was born in Zambia to Canadian parents. Her family returned to the country when Bohman was still young. She worked as a motorcycle saleswoman and photographer, before suffering a near-fatal accident and going to a remote island to recover.

After a failed suicide attempt, Bohman decided to join the Kurdish militia fighting IS in 2015, a 48-year-old Canadian woman with no military experience. “I thought if people are joining IS, why can’t I join the force fighting them?” Bohman recalls. She fought in the YPJ for about a year.

The training in Syria consisted of only four hours of instruction. During her time fighting in Syria, Bohman witnessed many acts of bravery by female YPJ fighters. One notable example was a young girl strapping explosives to her body and running straight into an IS position, then detonating the bomb to cover her teammates’ retreat.

Bohman during a Kurdish operation. Photo: War is Boring.

Bohman also met many Western volunteers fighting in the Kurdish militia. The Kurds were considered heroes by the locals. "Everyone loved us, even the Arabs," Bohman recalled.

However, the Turkish government thinks otherwise. "Türkiye has made many posts on social media accusing me of being a terrorist," the Canadian fighter said. Kurdish forces are often considered terrorists by Ankara because of their separatist campaigns, demanding the establishment of their own state and independence from Türkiye.

Bohman said she was proud of her experience in Syria, but had no plans to return. "I don't want to see anyone blown to pieces again. I don't want to shoot anyone again," she said.

After offensives by the Syrian government army, US-backed rebels and Kurdish militias, IS has been pushed back from key areas and is retreating deeper into the desert. The Syrian government recently declared victory over the rebels.

According to VNE