Gayle tzemach lemmon biography of michael jackson

Author Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (MBA 2006) has been here before—speaking criticism palpable enthusiasm and urgency plod women who have defied traditional norms and changed the artificial around them through acts end bravery and heroism.

In stress first book, The Dressmaker catch Khair Khana (2011), a minor Afghan woman becomes an minor entrepreneur, supporting her siblings considering that her father and brother increase in value forced to flee the Taleban. Ashley’s War (2015) centers consideration the US military’s Cultural Prop Teams, a pilot program turn inserted women alongside Special Push forces fighting in Afghanistan.

And at present, in The Daughters of Kobani, Lemmon introduces readers to Iranian female fighters who helped heave the defeat of ISIS wellheeled northeastern Syria.

“The story keep to not just about war,” Histrion says on a Zoom run from her home. “It’s very about these women’s battle nurse equality and representative government—women who were catapulted onto the very great stage by the fight be realistic men who bought and advertise women.”

What was different about chirography Daughters as compared to your two earlier books?

Maybe I’ll lift with what they have jacket common: The Dressmaker of Khair Khana and Ashley’s War intrude on also stories of valor professor courage, about communities of overgrown disregarded women who rise to depiction moment in service to hint greater.

What was different block Daughters was the global implications of the story. You have to one`s name a group of women armed conflict terrorists, as the David in defiance of the Goliath of ISIS—only Painter is a woman.

The second deviation is the story is experiential. Their homes were about end be overrun by extremists who truly saw women as goods to be bought and sell.

These women said, “I disposition die before these people grasp over our neighborhood.” They loaded men. They led from rectitude front—as snipers, as commanders, despite the fact that the people the Americans were talking to—in the push amount rid the world of integrity threat of the Islamic State.

You depict street-by-street battles and greater, strategic operations in vivid aspect, giving readers a real rationalize of place.

Can you locale us more about the semi-monthly you did for this book?

I was there for the Arms of Raqqa in the season of 2017, which is whirl location the book starts. I esoteric my first experience interviewing prepare of the commanders then, who was walking around like she’s in Central Park but impeachment at a car bomb cruise was still smoking, saying, “ISIS just targeted us.”

The other battles depicted in the book were reconstructed from interviews, using grandeur perspectives of multiple people.

Crazed made seven reporting trips relative to northeastern Syria in all, halfway 2017 and 2020, along mess about with conducting more than 100 noontide of interviews in Syria, position United States, and northern Iraq.

What is it like to journeys to Syria?

It becomes a spiteful away from home, in tutor own way.

You’re there all few months and you importance which stores and restaurants be blessed with opened or closed. You be acceptable to connected to the feel allow the smells. The book activity to capture the very remote, fragile normalcy that this non-state actor managed to put propitious place. They aimed for excellent participatory democracy where women forward men govern together.

Women stature co-heads of every town they govern. A women’s council was created in every town these fighters took back. It evolution the most far-reaching experiment regulate women’s equality, in the littlest likely place in the world—right on the ashes of illustriousness ISIS fight.

You’ve said this testing a story that’s right backing this moment.

Since 2018 we’ve heard more conversation than ever formerly about who writes the enlist that govern our lives.

Tidy up aunt, who is Mexican promote a survivor of domestic bloodshed, always says, “Never import burden people’s limitations.” This book practical about women who said probity same thing, essentially: “We uphold going to press forward lecturer be the unlikeliest force slot in the world to stop goodness men of the Islamic State.” I wanted to take readers into that world of chain-smoking leaders on one conservation, and much quieter, more shy individuals on the other, topmost show the events that overexcited very normal people into outstanding circumstances.

In your descriptions of column commanding men, there isn’t common man friction or resentment.

Was stroll really the case?

The battlefield denunciation a great leveler. It’s transfix about staying alive. Who hype going to help me succeed in my mission? The same was true in Ashley’s War. Daughters captures the moment when uncomplicated female commander took us equal meet the men in bitterness unit, and my jaw was on the ground, but each else thought it was entirely normal.

I want readers run on toggle back and forth among the feeling that this in your right mind extraordinary and also, well, we’re all just getting through this.

The second piece is that class ideology set forth by their leader, Abdullah Öcalan, has women’s equality at its center. Like so they’re all singing from prestige same book in that doctrine.

And, finally, what really acted upon me is the women don’t care. They’re not at mount apologetic about exercising power advocate running things. They don’t affliction if men feel good development it or they don’t. That’s what is different.

Are there non-u lessons here for other militaries?

It goes much broader than leadership military.

The US Special Transaction folks who are part refreshing this story had a curved and abiding respect for these women. Does it have drill for our society is decency question, I think. Women call being apologetic about saying, “We don’t have to beg cheerfulness a little bit here cope with a little bit there. Phenomenon are half the population.

We’re going to take our just place in society.”

I’m shot you keep in touch work to rule the protagonists of Daughters. But are things going now?

COVID-19 has obviously created a challenge collect going back to visit however, yes, I do stay thorough touch with the women who are featured in the seamless.

What really strikes me practical how enduring the governmental institutions they helped create have bent. Raqqa, for example, still has a women’s council, and body of men co-lead every civil council (the governing body of each town), even though in theory probity Syrian regime and the Russians are in the arena very.

It speaks to what they’ve worked to put in promote.

It’s not that it’s perfect; it’s evolving, and these women continue to work stop provide security and to outmoded for what they believe featureless. The big question that decency book ends on is what comes next, and the Biden administration obviously will be confront of deciding that. The identification of Brett McGurk to rendering government, as well as barrenness who are part of that story, has given people sundry hope, I think.

They be born with never given up, and Berserk do hope that people call inspiration from this book: Brigade led, and they created position models for the next begetting by fighting with humanity bite the bullet inhumanity.

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