The 21st century, where the contradiction between genders is more visible, has become an era in which men have a say and women are enslaved. In this century, the intersection point of all social problems, from ecology to the system of exploitation, from class problems to cultural decay, was "femicide", while femicide formed the basis of social problems, causing women to be the biggest social opposition of the age. The fact that women lead the struggle for social problems and freedom made them the target of sexist governments.

 

The Kurdish Women's Movement, which fought against attacks and for the construction of a women's liberation society, especially in Kurdistan, ensured that the character of the 21st century was in favour of women's freedom. In other words, while the 21st century is an era in which attacks on the women's freedom struggle were made at the highest level, it witnessed a period in which the Kurdish women's struggle is recognized all over the world. Women, who were the target of the government, especially in Bakur, decided to organize to find solutions to social problems and escalated the struggle.

 

NON-INTERRUPT STRUGGLE

 

Women, who struggled under the umbrella of the Democratic Free Women's Movement (DOKH) in 2005, continued their journey under the umbrella of Free Women Congress (Kongra Jinên Azad-KJA) in 2015. After KJA was closed by the Decree Law (KHK) in 2016, women came together under the umbrella of the Free Women's Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad-TJA) on November 20, 2016, and raised awareness through various campaigns. With their first campaign, women pointed out that the main problem was the insolubility of the Kurdish issue and stated that the main addressee is PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan and started the "No to dictatorship" campaign in Amed on January 26, 2017. The campaign, which consisted of two stages, continued with the slogans "I Protect My Leader, My Land and My Freedom" and "We will definitely win with the Leader".

 

Later, on June 11, 2017, the "Isolation Will Lose, Freedom Will Win" campaign was launched in Istanbul. The "We Will Stop the Femicide, We Will Liberate Life" campaign was also carried out in Êlih. In 2019, the "Stand up for change and freedom" campaign was launched in 5 regions. On May 21, 2020, the "Solidarity keeps us alive" campaign was launched. On September 15, 2020, the "Em xwe diparezin (We defend ourselves)” campaign was launched against harassment, rape, special war and assimilation. Campaign continued in 2021 with “We are marching for freedom against femicide, racism, war and isolation” and “Against racism and sexism êdî bes e (Enough is enough), now is the time for women's freedom”.

 

TJA launched a campaign on September 15, 2023, with the motto "Towards freedom with Woman, Life, Freedom (Bi Jin Jîyan Azadîyê ber bi azadiyê ve)" TJA, which decided to continue the campaign until March 8, International Women's Day, held meetings in provinces and districts in the first phase. In the second stage, it conducted workshops and training sessions on many topics such as isolation, special war policies, gender struggle and violence. In the third phase of the campaign, events, especially panels, were held in many provinces.

 

Stating that TJA's work continues against all pressures and attacks, TJA activist Nevriye Çur evaluated the "Bi Jin Jîyan Azadîyê ber bi Azadiyê ve" campaign, which has passed its 6th month.

 

ISOLATION TOWARDS ABDULLAH OCALAN

 

Reminding that they started the last campaign in two different regions, Turkey and Kurdistan, Çur said: “We started our campaign in two different places, Kurdistan (Silopiya) and Turkey (Istanbul). Women activists reached women in neighbourhoods in the provinces of Kurdistan and Turkey. As a result of meetings held in the neighbourhoods, it became clear that such a campaign was needed. We carried out studies to respond to the problems of society and women. We tried to answer these in all our work. We had very productive meetings in our women's meetings and neighborhood work. Afterwards, we held panels in Izmir, Istanbul and Êlih. We pioneered November 25."

 

Stating that the isolation imposed on PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan has deepened the Kurdish issue, which is the root cause of many problems, Çur stated that one of the main topics of the campaign is the fight against the isolation imposed on Abdullah Ocalan. Çur said: “In the women's meetings held before the campaign, we saw that isolation is on the agenda of women. The isolation on Mr. Ocalan has entered its 26th year. A very severe isolation policy is being implemented in Imralı. This isolation also reflects on society and people. A war is being waged and the country's budget is being transferred to the war. In this sense, isolation makes itself felt in every field. If the isolation is end, special war policies will also end. If a meeting is held with Mr. Ocalan, the Kurdish issue will also be solved. Women expressed all of these in our meetings."

 

DRUG AND PROSTITUTION CENTRE

 

Çur said that they heard many complaints about special war policies from women, especially in neighbourhood meetings, and said: “The women we contacted were saying that their children were involved in drugs. We also observed that substance use decreased at the age of 9, and families were very disturbed by this situation. Drug use and sale are quite common in Kurdistan. Families can no longer avoid this situation. We carried out awareness raising activities for women on how to approach their children. The biggest responsibility here on the family. Families must be aware of the state's conscious policy.”

 

Pointing out that there is a system in Kurdistan that drags young men into drugs and young women into prostitution, Çur said: “They want to alienate women from their values through prostitution. On the other hand, a policy of impunity is implemented in crimes of harassment and rape involving the law enforcement. We see that the problems experienced by women have increased after the municipalities were usurped in Kurdistan. We saw that with the closure of women's institutions and associations, women had no door to knock on the problems they experienced. In this sense, special war affects especially women in Kurdistan."

 

MORE THAN A SLOGAN

 

Reminding that the slogan “Bi Jin Jîyan Azadîyê ber bi Azadîyê ve” is not just a slogan and that women paid the price with their lives for this cause, Çur said: “Murders are committed and women are raped every day because of their woman identity. Rape is not just physical, women's rights are taken away and usurped, this is also rape. In this sense, our campaign is a rebellion against the injustice done to women. That's why women got involved in the campaign. Our struggle grows even bigger with women. Women explained their problems and we discussed the solution. There were one-on-one meetings and discussions with women. We knocked on every door and talked to children and young people. These meetings will last until March 8."

 

‘ONLY WAY IS FIGHT'

 

Drawing attention to the change created by struggling women during the process, Çur said: “In the initial processes, Kurdish women could not leave the house. They didn't see that power in themselves. Women fight with their families before going out, and when they went out, they fight with the society. Because women's rights were not seen, their existence was not accepted. When they went out to the streets, they also fight against the state. Organizing was not easy. Kurdish women's struggle has a historical tradition. There is a tradition of struggle that we received from the Saras, Beritans, Evins and Nagihans. It really wasn't easy to get to this stage, we paid a lot of price. Many of our friends are in prison, some sacrificed themselves. We will always follow in their footsteps and further expand their struggle."

 

Çur said: “Every woman will bring the freedom of society together with their own freedom. Yes, our campaign will end, but our struggle will always continue. Our call to women is this; Let's all raise our voices in the fields. Let's protect our gains. If we do not unite as women and defend our struggle, the masculine mentality will dominate us even more. We have no other way but to fight."

 

MA / Eylem Akdag