Rhetoric or reality? An analysis of the PYD as a gendered insurgent organization from 2011 to 2018

Using the framework of “gendered organizations,” this article argues that the PYD strategically constructed its gender relations in its propaganda campaign and governance strategy through four different processes (gender ideology, policies, divisions of labor and practices) overlaid onto three levels of analysis (culture, structure, and agency). Subsequently, we demonstrate that the PYD painted and adopted complex and contradictory patterns of gender relations which enabled the agency of Kurdish women, whilst restricting those of Arab women. Nonetheless, the PYD’s propaganda campaign and strategic approach was fundamental to establishing and consolidating control whilst enabling it to adapt to the threat of losing control.