Women of the Caliphate
In al-Roj camp in eastern Syria, thousands of foreign women, wives of Islamic State fighters wait for a decision that may never come. As Kurdish control over Rojava ends and Damascus moves east, their fate is unknown. I arrived to document a political transition, and found myself confronting something far less clear: my own inner unease.
THE BACKSTORY
Going into a Dark Place
ISSUE 13
I didn’t know what to expect when entering al-Roj. Under the watchful eye of the YPG, the camp feels controlled and sealed off from the world. I kept my camera packed up until permission was given. No hidden shots. No body camera. Just waiting, and watching.
The guards told me I could photograph whoever I wanted, even if the “prisoners” refused. That unsettled me immediately. We began in the market. Most women were fully covered, hard to identify. I started to photograph, telling myself it was ethically safe.
Then a woman approached me, speaking english with a French accent. “You didn’t ask for my permission.” I wasn’t even sure I had photographed her. “Even in here, we are humans,” she said. In that moment the dynamic shifted. I suddenly felt less certain behind the lens.
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