DAMASCUS (Ruptly) — In the isolated northern Syrian village of Jinwar, Kurdish women have set up a self-sustainable women’s-only commune, when men can visit but are not allowed to stay.

Jinwar is located a few miles from Qamishli, a city in the predominantly Kurdish region of northeast Syria, and it’s now home to seven families, with many more set to come.

The village was set up to offer Kurdish women an alternative society structure that promotes greater roles for women in society. The village provides the women, mostly widows, and their children, with some 30 homes, a school, clinic, store, bakery and a communal kitchen. Armed female fighters also provide the security.

“The main goal of this village is to offer freedom to these women and let them live inside a family and a society”, said Jinwar resident Fatima Ameen.