delivering vengeance to an unfair, unlawful world.

William Brangham talks with a former "NewsHour"# reporter and the author of a new bo a portrait of three modern-day women who similarly# used violence when they had no other option.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Alabama, Brittany# Smith shot a man who she said had just## raped and nearly killed her and# was choking her brother.

In India,## Angoori Dahariya, a lower-caste# woman unfairly evicted from her home,## rises to become the leader of a gang of women# who punish those who hurt other poor women.

And, in Syria, teenaged Cicek Mustafa Zibo# joins an all-female militia that's fighting## a violent campaign against the Islamic State# group, which is terrorizing their country.

How this violence changes each of these# women and has lasting implications on## them and their broader communities is the# subject of a new book called "The Furies:## Women, Vengeance, and Justice."

And it# is written by journalist Elizabeth Flock.

Liz, so good to have you back on the "NewsHour."

Can you just tell us a little bit more about these# women and why th ELIZABETH FLOCK, Author, "The Furies: Women,# Vengeance, and Justice": Yes, so I started this## project as a jou antiheroes.

They populate so many of our# movies and songs and books and mythology.

And I really wanted to understand why that# was.

And I think we're obsessed with these## stories because we wish in a way that we could# be them.

One in three women has faced domestic## or sexual violence in this country and in# the world.

And so I think when we see these## depictions on screen in pop culture, we wish# that we could be those women fighting back.

And so, as a journalist, my next question# was, are there real-life versions of these## women who have fought back?

So I spent# five years going around the world looking## for women who had fought back against# violence with violence of their own,## and I wanted to understand whether that violence# helped or harmed them and their communities and to## understand why they had to fight back and what# had happened that they hadn't been protected.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, that last point seems# to be the central thrust of the whole book,## that, while these women's circumstances are all# quite different, they each felt looking out for me in this given circumstance,# and so they had to take the most drastic step.

ELIZABETH FLOCK: Right.

whether it was the police or the court system or# the state itself.

They hadn't protected women,## hadn't responded to their complaints# of domestic or sexual violence,## and so the women ultimately took up# arms themselves to defend themselves## and their communities, and felt# that they had no other option.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I mean, it really is a# condemnation of our collective society.

ELIZABETH FLOCK: Yes.

I mean, I think hey, this is the solution, but it is asking# the question, what would you do if you in a scenario where you were facing domestic# or sexual violence and no one was responding to## your complaints or protecting you?

You would# have to -- would you take up arms yourself?

And so I think that was a question I had as a# journalist throughout this project and trying## to understand.

Brittany Smith shot a man who# she said raped her.

What should she have instead?

Angoori Dahariya was wielding# bamboo canes against domestic abusers,## but that was after police had failed to respond# to complaints of domestic violence for years.

And Cicek was a fighter in an all-female# militia fighting ISIS after the total## failure of the Syrian state.

And so she# felt like there was no other option as well.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: One of the things# that's so striking about your book is,## you just -- you refuse to romanticize thes I mean, you portray them, in some ways, all# taking heroic and at times inspiring ac but you also show the flip side of that,# that their violence has implications,## that the corruption can come with power,# and that that seems to be a real central## focus of this, that it's not# a rosy image of all of this.

ELIZABETH FLOCK: Yes, I# think, even as a journalist,## when I started out, I did have I thought, wow, this gang of women in# India is fighting domestic abusers.

How## cool.

How interesting.

And even the YPJ in Syria,## the all-female militia that Cicek fights# for, the Western media has gl quite a bit and said, look at these amazing# women wielding Kalashnikovs against ISIS.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And sexualized them too.

ELIZABETH FL And the longer I worked on this, the more# complicated I found al struggled with drug addiction.

Angoori was really# invested in her own power.

Cicek really was## obsessed with the ideology of the Kurdish leaders.# And I think that was really important to show.

And that's why you work on a book project# this length, because you're trying to push## back past the two-dimensional depictions# of these kinds of women.

the story of women doing extraordinary things.# But it's also the story of the complications of## that.

And I think, I hope that the reader# would wrestle with that throughout.

Like,## is this OK?

Is this not OK?

Where did they cross# the line with their violence?

What would I do?

And just how complicated all of that is.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: You were saying before that,# as you have been going out on you have been hearing from other women# who have had kindred kinds of experiences.

Can you explain what you're hearing?

ELIZABETH FLOCK: Yes, I mean, ol der women, and said, I faced some# kind of sexual or domestic abus or even just something as low-level as sexual# harassment, or something really violent, and## felt like they didn't know what to do, that they# looked back and wished that they had fought back,## that they understood what this book was about,# that they felt some kind of rage or violence.

A lot of people have said just the word relatable.# So, I think, unfortunately, it is still such a## silent epidemic, domestic and sexual violence.

We# know it's all around us, but we often don't hear## about it, and I think there's a reason that# these stories really resonate with everyone.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In the epilogue of your# book, you say that, as you were saying,## the women's actions both helped and hurt them.

No one gets a happy ending in this book, as# you report, but you also say be cause they live in -- quote -- "damaging# cultures of honor."

What do you mean by that?

ELIZABETH FLOCK: Yes, so all of the# women were punished for fighting back,## right?

And so it's kind of a double thing# that's happening t first, they're not protected, and then they# fight back and then they're punished for it.

So, Brittany was arrested and charged with murder.# Angoori was also arrested and sometime in her community.

And Cicek is suffering with# PTSD from fighting in war, which so often happens.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Grievous injuries.

ELIZABETH FLOCK: her arms and legs.

She was hit by drone# strikes.

But I think part of the reason is that I found# all three of these women -- and I didn't choose## these locations.

They -- these locations really# chose me because of the stories that I found,## and I realized that all of them,# whether it was rural Alabama or## Northern India or Northeast Syria, all# of them had these cultures o where honor was such an important concept for the# men that live there and defending their honor.

And I think that is what led to a lot of the# domestic and sexual violence that took place.

And,## as a result, these women were punished# for fighting back and speaking up.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The book is "The# Furies: Women, Vengeance, and Justice."

Elizabeth Flock, so great to see you.

Thank you.

ELIZABETH FLOCK: Thank you, William.