Video game sees Daesh beaten by a female Kurdish fighter

A new video game soon to hit the market has an unconventional lead character taking on Daesh: a female Kurdish fighter.

Gamers playing Insurgency: Sandstorm will follow the story of a Yazidi Kurd who escapes captivity by Daesh after a sandstorm ravages through the Iraqi village she is being held captive in. She then decides to fight against the militant group by joining a Kurdish militia, according to game developers New World.

“The narrative shifts the typical shooter inspiration away from blockbuster military power fantasy movies more towards a dark and understated indie film rooted in reality,” New World explained.

“Thematically, the game is inspired by real events and people, however this is a fictional story and characters,” the developer company said. The game is set to be released on game stations PlayStation 4, Xbox One and computers next year with alpha testing of the game available this year for a select few.

The game is believed to be influenced by the hundreds of Yazidi and Kurdish women who have taken up arms against the extremist group.

The game, along with the many images that have circulated on the internet showing Yazidi women brandishing weapons as they fight Daesh, is likely to be criticised by those that feel that the Western media’s “fetishism” of the female fighters is sexist and damaging.

Thousands of Yazidis were killed when Daesh took control of the Sinjar area in Iraq in August 2014. Many Yazidi women were then captured and used as sex slaves, which has not been the exclusive fate of Yazidi women under Daesh rule.