“When I was young one of my dreams was to be a Peshmerga. Many of the men in my family were Peshmerga with the PUK party. They were fighting against the regime of Saddam Hussein for a free Kurdistan and many of them died this way.” Paxshan Omer, 37 year old, is a Kurdish Peshmerga from Sulaimaniyah. She was married when she was 18 years old and has two sons. Her husband died 12 years ago, and she has been taking care of her kids ever since. Paxshan decided to join the peshmerga in 2003, with the invasion of America and the implementation of the “Anti terror war”, She is one of 500 female Kurdish peshmerga. The regiment, which was founded in 1996, is now ready to go to the frontline to defend the country. “I know it is hard work and the day I decided to be a peshmerga I told myself that maybe one day I might get injured or even die and I could not live with my family again. But only God can give you death or life, and so I am at peace.”
