Coming to Jinwar in northern Syria was Bedra Darwish's "only chance to have a better life".

The 35-year-old Arab woman from the Syrian town of Deir Ezzor has seven children. Her husband died one year ago fighting with the YPG — a Kurd-majority militia in Syria battling the Islamic State.

"I lived with the Islamic State and the situation was very difficult for women," she says.

"I always had to be covered and I couldn't do anything.

"My husband was also tired of living with ISIS, that is why, as soon as he had the chance, he joined the YPG."

In the far north-east of war-torn Syria, Jinwar is the Middle East's first-ever feminist commune.

Far from the battlefront where the Islamic State saw its caliphate disappear, Jinwar lies among croplands and fruit trees.

Created by a group of female activists from a diverse range of backgrounds, this eco-village was born to be a haven of peace, love and communal living.

Bedra Darwish plays with two of her seven children in the kitchen of her house. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

It opened its doors on November 25, 2018, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Its mission is to be an alternative space for every woman in the world.

Democracy, diversity, ecology

The commune is arranged in a triangle, made up of 30 houses of one to three rooms.

Twelve of the houses have been given to Kurdish, Yazidi and Arab women, but more are expected to arrive in early spring.

"All women are welcome, no matter their religion or ethnic group," Nujin said.

"This place will be a shelter for those who suffer abuse, a home for widows with children who lost their husbands during the war, and a place for those women who want to get away from a capitalist society."

Jinwar, which is based on democracy, diversity and ecology, took several years of work to come to fruition.

"All women have helped to build the houses using mud, forage and wood — natural products that do not pollute the environment," Nujin said.

"Renewable energies are used, mainly solar power."

Bedra says her life is "completely different" now that she is in Jinwar.

"I will never be able to get married again because I have many kids [and] no man will marry me," she said.

"This is the first time I am free, nobody tells me what to wear or what to do."

Women of varying ethnicities live in harmony.

"There are Kurds and Arabs in Jinwar and we all get along with each other," Bedra said.

"I don't understand Kurdish but people help me with translations.

"If I came back to my village I would not be accepted, so I will remain here forever."

Hawan Suli — a fictitious name — in the living room of her house. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

'Come here and free yourself'

Fellow resident Hawan Suli lives on the corner of the commune.

She has a fictitious name to preserve her identity.

She lived in Suleimaniya, Iraq, and was 13 years old the first time she got married.

"I was very young and I did not know anything about life, I didn't know what being married means," she said.

"My husband abused and hit me; we had five children."

Hawan divorced her first husband and eventually remarried.

She told her second husband she was a widow because she "wanted to be accepted", but her situation did not improve.

A neighbour of Jinwar sweeps the entrance of the communal kitchen, located in the centre of the village. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

"I have suffered a lot, my experience with men has been very negative," she said.

"I tried to kill myself twice throwing petrol over me, but some people stopped me."

In Iraqi Kurdistan, Hawan's case is considered normal, and no help from the government is offered.

Instead, women are sent to shelters that are similar to jails.

Hawan stayed in one of these shelters for a month until she decided to break out.

"I found out about Rojava [the autonomous region of northern Syria] on TV," she said.

"At that moment I contacted a political party linked to YPG and they brought me here through Sinjar [Iraq]."

Hawan has encouraged other women in her situation to "come here and free themselves".

"It was a bit difficult at first because I was alone and I speak a different Kurdish dialect, but now I feel pretty good with these families," she said.

"I have learnt to make things; I work at the bakery and in the fields. I would tell those women who want to commit suicide that there are other solutions, such as Jinwar."

The commune mascot rests in the women's training centre where the residents receive courses. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

Call for more eco-villages to allow women to live in safety and happiness

The commune is self-governed by an assembly that is held every month.

All women can provide new ideas to improve communal living. Every opinion is heard and all have the same value.

Assemblies are also used to distribute tasks. The different assignments rotate so everyone has the chance to learn different jobs.

The idea is to create more eco-villages like this one in the entire Syrian Kurdistan region.

Its origins can be found in the YPJ or Women's Defence Units, an army made of Kurdish women — unprecedented in the Arab world.

Women from the commune of Jinwar prepare the banners in the living room of a house for the celebration of Women's Day. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

They joined this army when the civil war started in Syria.

Armed struggle made women equal to men and the social struggle set them free from the patriarchy.

The residents of this commune have the necessary basic services to live by their own, but the commune is not an enclosed space.

"Residents can come and go at will and visits are allowed, but men can't stay over," Nujin said.

Ten-year-old Simar does homework in the living room of his house. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

"Living in a place just for women implies creating a social model far from the oppressive patriarchal power that limits our development as human beings."

Women work the fields, tend their livestock, are trained and teach children at school.

There is a bakery, library, a natural medicine dispensary and a communal kitchen in the middle of the town, near a children's park.

The construction of the swimming pool is scheduled to be completed for everyone next summer. Traditionally, swimming is seen as an activity just for men.

'I fell for Jinwar'

Fatima Umm Nasrin is a 34-year-old Kurdish woman.

Fatima Umm Nasrin wants her daughters to be successful in life. ( Supplied: JM Lopez )

Her life changed four years ago when her husband died in Kobane, Syria fighting against the Islamic State.

She has been living in Jinwar for the last three months.

"I was an activist and I knew this project, that is why I came here," Fatima said, while holding her six-year-old daughter.

"Living in a self-sufficient society means freedom.

"My family is quite traditional and I come from a conservative city where women are not allowed to be independent, but I tried to raise my daughters in a different way because I want them to be successful in life.

"I will never get married again, I fell for Jinwar and I want to devote my life to this place."