A short video circulating online from the Syrian city of Raqqa has sparked a wave of protest posts as women in Turkey and across Kurdish communities began sharing videos of themselves braiding their hair to denounce what they describe as an act of humiliation of a woman linked to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
A man is seen in the clip holding up a braid and telling the person filming it that he cut it off a woman he identifies as affiliated with the SDF. The person filming it asks why he did it and the man replies, “She’s already gone, what will she do?”
A Syrian armed man holding what he claims is the braid of a Kurdish female fighter, saying it was taken from Raqqa. The footage has sparked outrage and renewed concern over abuses and dehumanization in the conflict.
pic.twitter.com/fmkzBdAoL9— Diyar Kurda (@diyarkurda) January 21, 2026
The video triggered widespread outrage and a rapid social media trend centered on braiding hair as a sign of solidarity.
Several lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party, joined the campaign by posting videos of themselves braiding their hair.
Among them were Deputy Parliament Speaker Pervin Buldan, lawmaker Meral Danış Beştaş and party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan. Actor Belçim Bilgin also posted a video taking part in the trend.
Supporters say the campaign is about the identity and dignity of Kurdish women, including women who served in Kurdish-led forces fighting the Islamic State group. The Hawar News Agency, a Kurdish outlet, said the anger spread under slogans such as “In place of one braid, millions will grow,” framing the act as an attack on women fighters and calling it a form of trophy-taking.
The identity of the woman in the video and the exact circumstances of the incident could not be independently verified. Kurdish media have blamed Syrian forces for the alleged crime on video.
The Syrian government moved to expand its control into areas long administered by the SDF, Washington’s main local partner in the fight against the Islamic State group. In the past week, Syrian government forces have taken control of key detention sites near Raqqa holding Islamic State-linked prisoners under arrangements tied to a broader integration deal.
Raqqa, once the de facto capital of the Islamic State group in Syria, remains a central symbol in that conflict’s legacy. For many Kurdish activists, the braid-cutting video and the online response have become a warning about what they fear could happen to women associated with Kurdish-led groups as power shifts on the ground.