SULAIMANIYAH, IRAQ: Female Peshmerga travel through their base in Sulaimaniyah in the back of a pickup. The bond between the women is clearly strong and gestures of affection frequent.

The Peshmerga are Iraqi Kurdistan’s military forces. Unit 70, based in Sulaimaniyah, has a detachment of female Peshmerga who train to be combat ready and in theory may face ISIS on the frontline. The unit also performs an important political and social role, standing for the relatively progressive thinking that many Kurds pride themselves on.