* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The Free Syrian Army appointed its first top female commander as more women take up arms in Syria’s bloody war.
Amira, 30-year-old daughter of a former general, gained military experience while accompanying her father to several training camps, Al Arabiya reports.
She is a deputy commander of the Free Syrian Army’s brigade in Aleppo.
Guevara, pictured above, a Syria Palestinian married to an Al Wa’ad battalion commander, was the director of a secondary school before the revolution.
She is now a sniper on the front line in Aleppo.
Guevara talks to other fighters on a street in Aleppo.
Um Jaafar, a former hairdresser, received training from her husband Abu, a Free Syrian Army battalion commander.
She is a member of a Sawt al-Haq (Voice of Rights), fighting in the front line in Aleppo’s Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood.
Um Jaafar on the front line in Aleppo.
Um Jaafar and her husband Abu prepare their weapons before heading to the front line.
Um Jaafar, her husband and their daughter at their home in Aleppo.
Pictures taken by Reuters photographer Muzaffar Salman between Jan. 19 and Feb. 12. 2013 in Syria’s Aleppo.
