{"id":1207,"date":"2020-12-02T14:21:39","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T11:21:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jineoloji.eu\/en\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2021-01-02T22:57:12","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T19:57:12","slug":"women-in-the-kurdish-liberation-struggle-with-jineoloji-academy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jineoloji.eu\/en\/2020\/12\/02\/women-in-the-kurdish-liberation-struggle-with-jineoloji-academy\/","title":{"rendered":"Women in the Kurdish Liberation struggle with Jineoloj\u00ee academy"},"content":{"rendered":"

In November 2020 the International League of People’s Struggles<\/a> Women’s Commission and the International Women’s Alliance<\/a> held a two part webinar on women in the Kurdish Liberation movement. On the 25th November, International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women, the Jineoloj\u00ee academy gave a contribution on the history of the struggle, our continued power and need for unity, and in honour of those who have fallen.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Today, all over North and East Syria women have been gathering and marching; saying: No to femicide, no to genocide and occupation \u2013 together we defend women and life! <\/strong><\/p>\n

With this spirit we send our greetings of Solidarity from the Jineoloj\u00ee Academy in Rojava to all our struggling comrades in the Philippines and everywhere in the world! Especially to our sisters of Gabriela and all IWA members!
\nOur struggle today continues by commemorating all women who gave their live in the struggle for freedom and justice: like the Mirabel sisters in the Dominican Republic; women leaders like Gabriela Silang and Lorena Barros in the Philippines or Sakine Cansiz and Leyla Agir\u00ee in Kurdistan.<\/p>\n

Just one year ago, we saw that brave women like Hevrin Xelef, Eqide Osman, Amara Renas and hundreds more of our dear friends gave their lives to resist against the Turkish occupation attacks on Rojava. Again, only 5 months ago, on 23 June 2020 again, leading members of our women\u2019s movement Kongra Star were targeted by Turkish drones with NATO technology in Kobane: Zehra Berkel, Heb\u00fbn Mela Xelil and Emine Weysi were cruelly assassinated. Just on the doorstep of Emine\u2019s house while her daughter was preparing tea for them.<\/p>\n

So, discussing about the role of women in the revolution in Rojava means for us to remember all of these women. We remember the challenges of women from 4 generations and their ancestors who have been dedicating their lives to create a future for their children, in which they can in live together in dignity and justice – with their own language and culture. <\/p>\n

The journey of the Kurdish women\u2019s freedom struggle in Rojava started in the early 1980s. Since then Kurdish women \u2013 grandmothers, mothers, their daughters and granddaughters \u2013 have taken any risk to organise their communities \u2013 sometimes clandestinely and sometimes loud and openly. They have resisted against both the chauvinist repression of the Syrian regime and colonialism, as well as patriarchal structures and violence in families and society. Women were expected to marry at an early age, not to have an own opinion or will. They have been perceived as the honour of the family, owned by their father, their uncles, brothers and husbands. Women\u2019s duty has been to obey, to serve their husbands and families, to give birth to children \u2013 especially boys as successors for the family of their husbands. Beside this everything was seen as shameful or dishonouring. <\/p>\n

The struggle for national liberation lead by the Kurdistan Worker\u2019s Party PKK, the resistance of women leaders like Sakine Cansiz in the Turkish prisons or of women guerilla fighters in the mountains inspired and encouraged women of all ages. Thousands of women from Rojava followed in their footsteps. Especially the analysis of Abdullah Ocalan about the connection of the liberation of Kurdistan and women\u2019s liberation \u2013 that one cannot work without the other \u2013 became a source of self-empowerment for Kurdish women: From the 1990\u2019s until today thousands of young women from Rojava \u2013 as well as from all other parts of Kurdistan – jointed the guerilla struggle in the mountains of North Kurdistan. At the same time ten thousands of women have been organising, educating and mobilising the society in Rojava.<\/p>\n

They supported the guerilla struggle mentally and spiritually as well as materially: <\/p>\n

By organising collective harvest days, working and singing together on the fields to send the outcome of their labour as support for the guerilla struggle in the mountains;
\nby working as courier in between different regions to maintain organisational structures and communication;
\nby organising secretly classes in the neighbourhoods to teach women reading and writing in Kurdish language or to discuss about political developments and the struggle;
\nby organising and collecting support for poor families
\nby embracing women with solidarity who were subjected to violence and pressure within their families and clans
\nby reinterpreting ancient Kurdish songs and lyrics about with revolutionary content… <\/p>\n

In 2005 the Women\u2019s Movement in Rojava, today known as Kongra Star, was formally established. All of these efforts have build up the basis for Kurdish women playing a leading role in the Rojava Revolution.<\/p>\n

In 2011 along with the rise of people\u2019s resistances and uprisings against dictatorships in the Middle East and North Africa, also the Kurdish people in Syria – with women in many places at the forefront – started to mobilise and articulate their political demands. But they did not only demand legitimate rights. At the same time a process was started to build up the system of Democratic Autonomy \u2013 of people\u2019s democratic self-administration \u2013 as an alternative to oppressive state structures. For women and the women\u2019s movement Kongra Star this meant to establish within this context also an autonomous system of women\u2019s self-organising and self-governance. <\/p>\n

The women\u2019s system is based on women\u2019s communes, councils, cooperatives and academies in all regions of Rojava and North and East Syria after they were liberated by the SDF, YPJ and YPG forces from the bloody rule of ISIS. <\/p>\n

It covers all fields of life: Education and science, social life, politics, democratic relations and alliances, communal economy, justice as the women\u2019s justice council, culture and arts, self-defence, health, press and media as well as the autonomous organisation of young women and women of different national and religious communities.<\/p>\n

With the beginning of the revolution joint organisational platforms have been established like Women\u2019s Council of North & East Syria or the Syrian Women\u2019s Council: Here, Women from the Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Armenian, Chechen, Turkmen and all other national communities including women of different religions like Ezd\u00ee, Christian and Muslim come together with the aim to develop a common agenda, politics and struggle for women\u2019s liberation, genuine peace, democracy and justice in Syria.<\/p>\n

Women of different communities who have been living next to each other, for the first time really got to know each other, each other\u2019s history, cultures and challenges in their lives. <\/p>\n

What does this revolution mean in women\u2019s lives?
\nAnd what changes did women create in their lives and society?
\nWhy do we talk about a women\u2019s revolution?<\/em><\/p>\n

This we can learn by giving the examples of some women community leaders. They represent the lives and experiences of hundred of thousands women in Rojava, today. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Gul\u00ea Selmo – Organising Community, Social life and a Women\u2019s Justice System: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Gul\u00ea Selmo became the first martyr of Kongra Star as well as of the Rojava Revolution in general: Gul\u00ea Selmo grew up in the 1960s in a village in the Efr\u00een region. Already in the 1980s, her family, as well as other families from her village, sympathised with the Kurdish freedom struggle and the PKK’s desire to establish an independent, united Kurdistan. After her marriage Gule moved with her husband to Aleppo, where in a quarter where about 200,000 Kurds lived, most of them had been forced into poverty. The state land ousted them from their lands. So they had to go to Aleppo to find work. <\/p>\n

Since Gul\u00ea Selmo did not have any children, she was repeatedly confronted with patriarchal social pressure, even in her own family environment. However, for Gul\u00ea Selmo all heval, all comrades of the Liberation Movement and the children of her neighbourhood were like her own children. She cared for each them. She became like a mother for all of them. For more than 20 years, she played a leading role in organising and mobilising the population in Aleppo, in the \u015eehba and Efr\u00een region.<\/p>\n

When the Women\u2019s Movement was founded 2005, Gul\u00ea Selmo also became a member. At first she secretly organised meetings and educational events for women in her neighbourhood. She took part in many actions and protests despite attacks by the Syrian state. She organised campaigns to free the political prisoners. When in 2011-2012 the democratic self-governing structures were also organised in Aleppo, Gul\u00ea Selmo was elected as a delegate of Kongra Star to the people\u2019s council in her district. She became a member of the People\u2019s Justice Commission. Day and night she was busy with organising demonstrations and meetings, with solving problems and disputes, with ensuring the safety and provision of supplies for the population in her district. There were daily attacks and arrests of young people by the Baath regime. On 10 March 2012, when clashes broke out between members of an Arab tribe that was collaborating with the regime and Kurdish youth, Gul\u00ea Selmo intervened again. She tried to settle the matter peacefully and to prevent bloodshed. However, the provocateurs of the Ba’ath regime started shooting at the Kurdish youth. Hereby Gul\u00ea Selmo was shot in her head. 3 days later she died at the age of 50 in the hospital. The anger over this assassination triggered the first uprisings of the Kurdish people at the beginning of the Rojava Revolution. The uprisings lasted for several days, state institutions were burned down and the last remaining regime forces were driven out of the district. Women led the funeral march to the cemetery, which was attended by over 150,000 people. Friends of Gul\u00ea Selmo said that she had a strong personality, was loved and respected by all people, young and old, man and woman. The mass demonstration on the occasion of her funeral not only set an example against the regime’s attacks. Many people became aware that the feudal-patriarchal understanding that a woman could only gain social prestige through giving birth to many children was not valid anymore. It became clear that women now have gained even greater attention and respect in society through their political struggle and social commitment, through their sense of justice and responsibility. “Mother Gul\u00ea” has become immortal as the first martyr of the Rojava Revolution. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Hevrin Xelef \u2013 from Young Women\u2019s Organising and Communal Economy to Politics, creating Democratic Relations and Alliances: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Hevr\u00een Xelef, was born in 1984 in D\u00earik. As a child she grew up in a socially and politically committed family. 4 of her brothers and Hevr\u00een’s sister Zozan joined the liberation struggle of the guerilla. They all lost their lives while fighting against Turkish occupation forces.
\nTheir mother took part in many popular assemblies and also met with Abdullah \u00d6calan. What she learned from these assemblies also had a great influence on Hevr\u00een’s education and personal development. After Hevr\u00een completed her school education in D\u00earik, she studied agricultural sciences in Aleppo. Afterwards she returned to D\u00earik. With the beginning of the revolution in Rojava, Hevr\u00een participated to works of the youth movement. With the proclamation of the Democratic Autonomy Administration, she became co-chair of the Economical Committee of Democratic Self-Government in Ciz\u00eere Canton. In this work she paid special attention to the economic needs of women and the development of women’s economy and cooperatives. <\/p>\n

In 2018, Hevr\u00een participated in the process of building and founding the Future Party of Syria with the aim of promoting the interests of all population groups in Syria and a democratic renewal of Syria. On the founding Congress she was elected as General Secretary of the Party. In each of her speeches, Hevr\u00een stressed the importance of dialogue among the various Syrian political forces, national and religious communities in Syria. She insisted that the peoples together should determine their own future and shape their own political and social life. With her political struggle, Hevr\u00een called on all sections of society and political actors to participate in a democratic solution to the crisis in Syria.<\/p>\n

On 12 October 2019 \u2013 on the 3rd day of Turkey’s occupation war last year – Havrin Xelef was assassinated in an ambush. Members of the Islamist National Syrian Army under Turkish command stopped at her car on the M4 motorway and shot at it. She was dragged out of her car and executed her. She was 35 years young.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Zehra Berkel – Community Organising and Education in connection with Culture & Arts: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Zehra Berkel was born and grew up in Koban\u00ea. She began early to look for ways of women\u2019s liberation. She gave importance to the involvement of young women in arts and cultural works connecting them with actions to change the feudal-patriarchal mentality in society.
\nAlready in her childhood she supported the family economy, which was very poor. Her father wanted to take her out of school, but she resisted because she wanted to learn. <\/p>\n

At an early age she gathered old women together at home and gave them lessons in Arabic, reading and writing. Later she studied law, because she wanted to defend the rights of women. This was all before the revolution in Rojava. <\/p>\n

With the revolution in Rojava Zehra started to work in the women’s movement. First she took part in building up the women centre Mala Jin. Finally she became a member of the coordination of Kongreya Star. She suggested that men should also see education by women to overcome patriarchal mentality and attitudes.<\/p>\n

Zehra Berkel was murdered together with two other women activists by a targeted air-strike of a Turkish drone on 23 June 2020. Over and over again she told women in her surrounding: \u201cWe should never say \u2018We are free.\u2019 We still have a way to go before we are really free, until we can really breathe freely.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u2022 Malda Kosar – Jineoloji as a Science of Women and Life. Research and education for succeeding a women\u2019s revolution and liberation of society!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malda K\u00fbsa was born in 1998 in Hesek\u00ea. She grew up with two languages, Kurmanc\u00ee and Arabic, having friends and neighbours of Kurdish and Arbic communities. She took part in the Jineoloj\u00ee works. She coordinated the works of the Jineoloj\u00ee Research Centre of Hesek\u00ea Canton.<\/p>\n

Everyone who gets to know the science of Jineoloj\u00ee gets to know himself\/herself and takes personal development steps. She gave education and carried out research. Her role was to fight against the patriarchal mentality and oppression by passing on knowledge. When she first went to the Defence Forces Training Centre to teach Jineoloji, she was very young herself and gave education to 300-400 men. She herself was very excited and said: ‘How can I teach them the science of woman and life? How can I advance the foundation for changing men?\u2019<\/p>\n

After having given the education she returned full of enthusiasm and joy. For she saw that men, approached her teaching and questions with respect and listened to her. With all her heart she said: ‘This is revolution. 400 men listening to a woman who is teaching them about history and the science of women. In this society where men were at the centre of the whole life, now it is possible that a women is educating them.\u2019<\/p>\n

Through Jineoloj\u00ee she got to know all the history and personalities of oppressed and resisting women in many cultures and places. That’s why she said: ‘It is as if I open my eyes in a new life: life is so many-sided and rich.\u2019 Her questions and search became deeper. With passion, a clear will and self-confidence she participated in all works. She could not bear injustice. Even when people met her with injustice, she met them with a smile and with her pure heart, so that she managed to make those with her injustice ashamed. The personality and attitude of Malda are an example for the development of Jineoloj\u00ee works in Rojava. Malda just was 20 years young, when on 4 May 2019 she was killed on her way back home from works the Al Hol region by a road mine placed by the IS. <\/p>\n

\u2022 Jinwar – Health, Communal Life and Economy to defend women\u2019s lives and nature: <\/strong><\/p>\n

Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of all forms of violence against women the women\u2019s village Jinwar celebrates its anniversary! 4 years ago this project was announced by planting the first trees on a plain of agricultural land. Two years later the women started to live together with their children in the village build up from clay houses. They organise their daily live \u2013 bread backing, gardening, farming, education, economy, celebrations and everything that is needed \u2013 communally. For each personal and collective problem they try to create a solution by learning from each other\u2019s live experiences.
\nWhile due to Corona the health system collapsed everywhere in the World on 8 March 2020 women of Jinwar opened the natural health clinic \u015eifaJin in order to raise women\u2019s awareness on natural healing methods and provide healthcare assistance for women in the surrounding villages.<\/p>\n

These are only some examples showing how women in Rojava are defending their land and society against occupation, genocide and femicide: Through organising women and educating society, by building up new forms of communal life and economy.<\/p>\n

Jin \u2013 Jiyan \u2013 Azad\u00ee!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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