Middle East ‘Now I’ve a purpose’: why more Kurdish women are choosing to fight Zeynab Serekaniye, a Kurdish woman with a gap-toothed smile and a warm demeanor, never imagined she’d join a militia. The 26-year-old grew up in Ras al-Ayn, a town in north-east Syria. The only girl in a family of five, she liked to fight by The EditorJuly 19, 2021