Matteo Trevisan
Jin, Jiyan, Azadi - Woman, Life, Freedom is a project that explores the role of women within the ecological revolution of Rojava, in northeastern Syria, where for more than a decade a unique social model has been developing in the Middle East - one based on social ecology, direct democracy, and women's liberation. A revolution unlike any other in the region, in which women are involved in every sphere of society: municipalities, civil councils, agricultural cooperatives, health centers, security systems, and local administrations operate through a system of male-female co-leadership. Today, after years of effort and collective construction, the prospect of a large-scale war in Syria threatens what has been built with such determination and sacrifice. Jin, Jiyan, Azadi was created to document not only the visible presence of women within institutions and ecological projects, but also the deeper cultural vision that connects emancipation and nature, community and autonomy.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
My dream is for the village to become even more beautiful. Living here, connected to one another, is a dream. Nusjin, 56, arrived in Jinwar after losing her husband and facing illness and isolation. Jinwar functions as a self-sufficient community, with housing, education, healthcare and agricultural spaces managed collectively by women. Jinwar, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
Dila is one of the teachers at the school in Jarudi, a rural village in Al-Hasakah Governorate, in north-eastern Syria. Residents have organized village life through grassroots communal structures and cooperatives, empowering women and children alike.Salaries for teachers were higher under the regime. But this is better: I prefer eating less and having more freedom. Jarudi, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
I arrived here a year ago. I had many problems in my life. I lived with my husband in Heseke. The comrades suggested I come here, and I decided to. The relationships among women are beautiful; I love everything here. I hope to be reborn here, with a clear mind, and to live in peace here it is possible. Amal in Jinwar, an eco-feminist village founded during the Syrian war as a refuge for women. The village, powered in part by solar energy, was built collectively and inaugurated in 2018. Jinwar, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
Ehmed is a teacher at Jinwar and has lived in the village since its foundation in 2017. Jinwar is a women-only village built for women and their children in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Its name comes from Kurdish: jin (woman) and war (space or home), meaning women's space. Jinwar, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria September —2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
I truly hope people evolve and start taking care of nature and their cities? Seher Mihemmed, 19, video editor and member of a local ecological group active in environmental awareness and protection initiatives. In the political model of democratic confederalism, ecology, grassroots democracy and women's liberation are inseparable pillars of social transformation. Qamishlo, Hasakah Governorate, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
Fatima, 27, works at a tree nursery in Qamishlo, opened in 2021 to produce seedlings for reforestation projects across the region. The initiative responds to the severe water and climate crisis affecting north-eastern Syria. Within Rojava's ecological revolution, women play a central role in environmental education and restoration, linking ecology to social and gender liberation. Qamishlo, Hasakah Governorate, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
I started working in ecology in 2014. The regime affected ecology with the Arabic Belt project: they attacked nature so we would not recognize ourselves. They brought destruction and cut all the trees. Then the embargo came: it prevents us from obtaining the technology we need. Our goal is to stop using generators. Our goal is to restore the nature. Rovend Ebdo, 32, head of the ecology department of Hasakah canton. She describes the long-term environmental damage caused by state policies, war and embargoes, and the struggle to build sustainable alternatives. Hasakah, Hasakah Governorate, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî - Woman, Life, Freedom, 2025, Syria.
Remziye, Niismiye and Wadhen, members of HPC-Jin, the women's civil defense committees of Qamishlo. HPC-Jin units are community-based self-defense groups responsible for civilian protection, monitoring public spaces and supporting social cohesion, particularly during periods of conflict and instability. Qamishlo, Hasakah Governorate, Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), Syria — September 2025.