To understand the very substance and existence of Rojava, one must first look at the Kurds and their treatment in the region. Syria has never been a country friendly to its native Kurds. The Kurdish population residing there were denied even the most basic forms of citizenship, civil rights and recognition as a minority group. When unrest and civil conflict began to take a stranglehold on Syria, the Kurds in northern Syria rose and established an autonomous safe-haven to practice their culture, politics and social views, viewed by many as one of the most radical forms of democracy, freedom, and liberty.


Since then, Rojava's political and societal struggle has gained international appreciation for its sanctity of gender equality and direct democracy. Amidst the ongoing terror in Syria, Kurds created not only a stronghold for the cultural rights of Kurds, but equally of Arabs, Assyrians, and Turkmen. Religious freedoms are also greatly cherished and the once persecuted Christians are now able to practice their faith freely and openly.

Through this guide, we hope to shed some light onto many of the factors that make such a fragile region so united and raise awareness for the plight of Rojava and the existential threats it faces.


There are an estimated 30-32 million Kurds in the world today, most of which reside in the contingent overlap region regarded of as Kurdistan; this area spans parts of what we know as Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

As Kurds in Syria are almost totally undocumented due to government refusal to recognize them as a minority group, it is difficult to determine their actual population. To further exasperate this issue, host countries of the Kurds like to underestimate and downplay their Kurdish population numbers to kerb aspirations for statehood. Estimates for the Kurdish population in Syria hover around 2.5 million, making them accout for an approximate of 15% of the entirety of the Syrian population. A majority of Rojavan Kurds are Sunni Muslims but quite lax regarding religion in general. Substantial populations of Yezidi Kurds also exist within Rojava, an ethno-religious group spanning Kurdish regions of Iraq and Syria.

In 2011, as the Syrian Civil War was flaring up, Kurds chose the path of autonomy. Continued persecution and cultural exclusion led to the Kurds expelling government forces in the north to establish Rojava and its confederal structure. Since then, many temporary alliances and truces between Kurds and other Syrian forces have been forged and scrapped, and the Kurds have managed to control territory comparable to the size of Israel.

The political structure of Rojava has been widely acclaimed as the living embodiment of the work of American libertarian socialist, Murray Bookchin. Although Bookchin couldn't amass widespread support in the United States, his legacy lived on and is at the core of Rojava's political philosophy. These ideas were furthered by Kurdish revolutionary, Abdullah Ocalan, and this is what ultimately led to its implementation.

The political system aims to include everybody in its decision making. There are strict quotas to enforce equal involvement of gender and ethnicity at all levels of governance. In each municipality, the top three officers have to include a Kurd, Arab and Assyrian or Armenian Christian, and at least one of the three has to be female. These laws, although extreme, mean that the delicate and diverse balance of people in Rojava are all included in all layers of government and legislature.

Besides inclusivity, there is also a large degree of devolution in which local areas have more power and control over how they allocate and spend their resources.



The main opponents of the self-administrated confederation of Rojava are the Syrian government and Turkey, the latter of which is opposed to all forms of Kurdish autonomy in fears of its own Kurdish population pursuing self-rule. Whilst these states are looking to eradicate Kurdish autonomy in Rojava, the United States of America have been funding and arming the Kurds and are considered top allies of one another.

The roots of Rojava's armed forces strategy lie with its Kurdish traditions of guerrilla warfare.

The Kurdish YPG (People's Protection Units) and YPJ (Women's Protection Units) are voluntary forces made up of passionate and patriotic fighters who lead an armed struggle to establish Kurdish autonomy. The armed forces are made up of a staggering 40% female membership who actively engage in combat no differently to their male counterparts, with all combat roles open to female candidates. These proportions are radical compared to neighbouring countries and stand strongly globally amongst the most progressive countries in the modern world. Rojavan armed forces are all under the SDF (Syrian Democratic Forces) umbrella group and number around 50,000 active personnel.

Rojavan forces have also enjoyed local and international support in the form of military alliance, coalition airstrikes and political support from Western countries. They are notoriously powerful, well-organised and seen as a force of good by much of the world.

Greater Kurdistan
Your guide and portal for everything relating to Kurds and Kurdistan, striving to give you the best information and explanations regarding the Kurdish struggle for democracy, liberty and equality. We welcome all nationalities, colors and creeds to join us in our bid to raise awareness.