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For 14 years, while Syria was divided by civil war, Kurds in the north-east of the country tried to build a new democratic society, with equality for men and women – an inspiration for feminists around the world. But now, the Kurdish autonomous area, Rojava, is coming back under the control of a central government that’s now run by former Islamists.

Reporter Tim Whewell asks whether Rojava’s rare social experiment - including all-women fighting units – will survive? He interviews Kurdish women, including the young co-mayor of one of the area’s main cities, who’s determined to continue her work, and learns about the origins of Rojava’s unusual system. He also talks to a woman who says she and her family witnessed the killing in January this year of unarmed Kurdish men, by fighters supporting the central government. As such allegations multiply, many Kurds are nervous about their future in a united Syria.

Local reporters/producers: Sangar Khaleel, Mustafa al-Ali, Khabat Abbas
Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill
Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison
Editor: Penny Murphy

(Image: A young fighter in the YPJ (Kurdish Women’s Protection Units) Credit: Amjad Kurdo / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)