Women's Protection Units

Women's Protection Units
Women's Protection Units
Kurdish: Yekîneyên Parastina Jin (YPJ); Arabic: وحدات حماية المرأة
	Flag of the YPJ
Active	April 2013–August 2026
Allegiance	Kurdish Supreme Committee (2013); Rojava (2013–2026); Democratic Union Party (2013–2026)
Branch	Female service units
Type	Light infantry (militia)
Size	24,000 (2017 estimate); 5,000 (2021 estimate); 8,000 (2025 Turkish Government claim)
Part of	Syrian Democratic Forces (2015–2026)
Mottos	"Know yourself, protect yourself"
Engagements	Syrian civil war Rojava conflict Battle of Aleppo; Battle of Ras al-Ayn; Rojava–Islamist conflict; Siege of Kobanî; US intervention in the Syrian civil war; Eastern al-Hasakah offensive; Battle of Sarrin Battle of Sarrin (March–April 2015); Battle of Sarrin (June–July 2015); ; Tell Abyad offensive; Battle of al-Hasakah; 2015 al-Hawl offensive; Tishrin Dam offensive; Eastern Syria insurgency; ; Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016); Operation Euphrates Shield; Operation Olive Branch; 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria; Operation Dawn of Freedom; 2024 Syrian opposition offensives Battle of Aleppo (2024); Deir ez-Zor offensive (2024); ; Turkish offensive into northeastern Syria (2024–2025); East Aleppo offensive (2024–2025); ; War in Iraq (2013–2017) December 2014 Sinjar offensive; November 2015 Sinjar offensive; ;
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 or Women's Defense Units (YPJ) was an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ was 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.