"When we all witnessed the inexplicable resistance put up by those Kurdish women in northern Syria as they were driving out the Islamic State [IS], we were all stunned and perplexed," said Kurdish Iranian artist Hadi Ziaoddini of how he was inspired for one of his widely admired sculptures, "The Lioness of Kobani."

Ziaoddini unveiled the work (pictured below) in November 2014, following two industrious weeks at his cozy workspace inside the early 19th century Khosro Abad Mansion, a national heritage site in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj, 250 miles southwest of the capital Tehran.  

"I felt the urge to express my own admiration … [at] the bravery and heroism of an army entirely shaped by those courageous women standing up against the most vicious terror group ever created by politicians," he told Al-Monitor.

Portraying a Kurdish woman in guerrilla uniform, "The Lioness of Kobani" represents all the female fighters, who were engaged in relentless counterattacks that ultimately broke the IS siege on the flashpoint Syrian city of Kobani in January 2015. Looking resolutely on the horizon, the fighter is sitting on the back of a lion, the epitome of valor in Kurdistan and the wider Middle East.