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With regard to Chris last point about the role of women in liberated Manbij, there were some very interesting comments on Facebook by Syrian-Kurdish-Australian scholar and activist Hawzhin Azeez, now working for the movement in Kobane, following a visit by her there in January. It reminded me of passages in Orwell's Homage to Catalonia: "Today I visited Manbij city with a few friends. Manbij consists of about 80% Arabs in northern Syria, and is a surprisingly bustling and industrious city considering it has only been about 4 months that it was liberated by the Syrian Democratic Forces from ISIS. Unlike Kobane it did not suffer significant damage to its infrastructure and the city has managed to retain its equilibrium since liberation. The city is a hub of noise, honking cars, speeding motor cycles, street sellers, kebab and fresh fruits and vegetables... "Manbij had been under ISIS control for over two years and the people of the city had suffered horrendously during that period. Most specifically, women were most in danger because ISIS thugs were known for forcibly taking young girls, women and wives and marrying them off or worse. Regular beheading, public floggings and other terrible crimes were daily occurrences in the city. "In my previous visits to the city I had only seen women wearing the full Burka, with an additional cloth covering even the women's eyes; I must admit that there was a certain degree of culture shock as women across Rojava wear various degrees of the hijab but never had I seen the Burka nor to that degree. The problem was not the Burka itself but the degree and consistency of the Burka with the only distinction being that some women's eyes could be seen, or they were not wearing gloves. "This time however, I witnessed something wonderful. During lunch time we visited a restaurant where a young girl by the name of Dinah was serving us. I couldn't help beaming with pride as soon as I saw her. She was full of energy and obviously took great pride in her job. During lunch we communicated with each other with broken Kurdish on her part and broken Arabic on my part- and with the help of our friends who translated. She spoke of her happiness to not only be able to work but the fact that she could leave the house freely with only a scarf rather than clad all in black... "...It is difficult to determine what exactly is the future, and where Dinah will be in a year or two. Will she still be working in the restaurant? or will the changing tide of politics force her back into her home and her burka, or across oceans as a refugee? instead I hope that all the women in Manbij and across Syria gain a sense of control and autonomy over their lives and bodies and live liberated from terrorism and authoritarianis . I hope they will be able to go to work and study and live a life with dignity and freedom in a society that recognizes their worth. A society that is democratic, a society that is striving towards change and progress. A society that creates energy, motivation and hope in young women rather than apathy, fear and death. I hope Dinah lives in such a Syria and grows old having experienced the full wonderful spectrum of beauty, love, happiness, and prosperity that a free life can offer". Full https://www.facebook.com/hawzhin.azeez/posts/1365339890195570 On Thu, Mar 2, 2017 at 1:23 PM, Chris Slee via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > Yasser Munif's article is very interesting. > > > But he is incorrect to say: "In August 2016, the Kurdish Democratic Union > Party drove out the Islamic State". In reality, Manbij was liberated from > the "Islamic State" by the multi-ethnic Manbij Military Council and Syrian > Democratic Forces. > > > Below is a link to an interview with the two co-presidents of the > "Democratic and Civilian Administration of Manbij and its Surroundings", > established after ISIS was driven from the city. > > > One of the co-presidents is Ibrahim Kaftan. According to the ANF > newsagency, Kaftan was formerly the "president of the Sawra Council in > Manbij affiliated to the Free Syrian Army." I am not sure if this is the > same as the Manbij Revolutionary Council that Munif describes. In any > case, it suggests that there is some continuity between what happened in > Manbij in 2012-2014 and what is happening today. > > > However, the role of women is much greater today. > > > Chris Slee > > > *** > > > Liberated Manbij city institutionalizes its self-administration > > http://anfenglish.com/features/liberated-manbij- > city-institutionalizes-its-self-administration > > > > ________________________________ > From: Marxism <marxism-boun...@lists.csbs.utah.edu> on behalf of Louis > Proyect via Marxism <marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> > Sent: Wednesday, 1 March 2017 11:57 PM > To: Chris Slee > Subject: [Marxism] Fwd: Participatory Democracy and Micropolitics in Manbij > > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > Here, during an interlude of relative stability when neither the Syrian > government nor foreign-backed jihadist groups had taken over the city, > Syrians were deciding how to run their city for themselves.And they were > excelling at it. > > full: > https://tcf.org/content/report/participatory-democracy-micropolitics- > manbij/ > [https://production-tcf.imgix.net/app/uploads/2017/02/ > 21114527/Munif7.jpg?w=1280&h=140&fit=max]<https://tcf.org/ > content/report/participatory-democracy-micropolitics-manbij/> > > Participatory Democracy and Micropolitics in Manbij<https://tcf.org/ > content/report/participatory-democracy-micropolitics-manbij/> > tcf.org > Manbij, a city in northern Syria, hosted a compelling example of > successful grassroots governance during the two-year period between the > Syrian regime’s wi > > > > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > [http://www.marxmail.org/rosa.jpg]<http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm> > > Marxism list Subscription Information - marxmail.org<http://www. > marxmail.org/sub.htm> > www.marxmail.org > MODERATION PRINCIPLES: The Marxism mailing list is extremely permissive. > There are a couple of things that are frowned upon strongly. 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