Women's Protection Units
| Women's Protection Units | |
|---|---|
| Kurdish: Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ) Arabic: وحدات حماية المرأة | |
Flag of the YPJ | |
| Active | April 2013–present |
| Allegiance | Kurdish Supreme Committee (2013) Rojava (2013–present) Democratic Union Party (2013–present) |
| Branch | Female service units |
| Type | Light infantry (militia) |
| Size | 24,000 (2017 estimate) |
| Part of | Syrian Democratic Forces (since 2015) |
| Motto(s) | "Know yourself, protect yourself" |
| Engagements |
|
| Website | https://ypjrojava.net/ |
| Commanders | |
| General Commander | Nesrin Abdullah |
| Kobanî commander | Meryem Kobanî |
| Aleppo commander | Sewsen Bîrhat |
| Leading commander for Raqqa operations | Rojda Felat |
The Women's Protection Units (YPJ) or Women's Defense Units is an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed forces of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and is closely affiliated with the male-led YPG. While the YPJ is mainly made up of Kurds, it also includes women from other ethnic groups in Northern Syria.