The Resistance of Kobani: The Result of 'Women’s Self-Management Projects'

The different image that women from the Kurdish city of Kobani in Syria have presented over the past few months may have been the reason and opportunity for the 'Women's Project of the Political Refugees Center in Berlin' to dedicate this year's International Women's Day program to 'the experience of Kurdish women in Rojava' (Syrian Kurdistan). However, the speakers at this event believed that the resistance of women in Kobani is not an instantaneous and short-term phenomenon, but rather the result of about 30 years of organization and 'women's self-management projects', to the extent that 'even if no men existed in Kobani, the women of this city would have the capacity to resist against ISIS.' Maha al-Mohammad, a member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), spoke at this meeting about projects that have been implemented independently of governments in 'Rojava' for women. She referred to these as 'women's self-management projects'. According to Ms. al-Mohammad, the 'Women's Academy' in this region provides education to women and enables them to participate and work in economic projects, including factories, agriculture, and places like bakeries where women previously had no opportunity to work. She noted that although these projects are implemented independently of governments, active women in these projects also have diplomatic connections with women's organizations in Europe, having raised 500,000 euros from individuals and volunteer organizations for these projects. Ms. al-Mohammad stated that in this academy, women also receive military training for 'self-defense under the conditions of Syrian Kurdistan'. She mentioned 33 laws as achievements of women in 'Rojava', including the prohibition of polygamy for men, the prohibition of marriage for girls under 18, and forced marriages. The speakers at the International Women's Day meeting in Berlin also reminded that the women's movement in 'Rojava' is dependent on armed Kurdish groups opposing the central governments in Turkey and Syria and ideologically defines itself within the 'leftist intellectual tradition'. Fatemeh Karimi, a PhD in Public Sociology from the Paris School of Social Sciences, dedicated the main part of her speech to women's membership in Kurdish political parties. She noted that in the 'struggles' of the Kurds for political and civil rights, it has always been male leaders who have directed the struggles, and women have always played a marginal role. According to Ms. Karimi, women's rights have always been sidelined in these 'struggles', with priority given to other issues such as political matters. This activist and researcher in women's studies discussed the 'suspicious view' of feminists on the subject of 'feminism and nationalism', a view that sees women as absent presences in nationalist struggles and believes that women play the most significant roles in nationalist or political struggles but receive the least share, as priority is given to other issues and women's issues are always sidelined. Ms. Karimi emphasized that 'to have a modern state, women are asked to be modern and educated. At the same time, they are asked to preserve their customs, culture, and clothing. In this situation, women find themselves in a contradictory position, being both traditional and modern.' She mentioned 'gendered division of labor' as another characteristic of nationalist struggles, adding that in these struggles, men must defend the nation and territory while women are more engaged in peripheral tasks such as childbearing. According to Ms. Karimi, with the emergence of leftist movements in Iranian Kurdistan and Turkish Kurdistan in the 1980s, including the formation of the Komala Workers' Organization in Iranian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey, the discussion of women's presence in political parties also emerged. This activist and researcher in women's studies added that 'before this stage, only women from important families or wives of important men were mentioned, for example, the wife of Qazi Muhammad was prominent at the time of the formation of the Republic of Mahabad. However, with the emergence of the leftist movement in Kurdistan, women from all classes are mentioned for the first time.' She noted that with the onset of conflicts between the Iranian government and Kurdish parties in the early years after the Islamic Revolution, 'as the Komala parties retreated to rural areas, many women who had participated in the open activities of the Komala Party also retreated with this party, and inadvertently, women entered armed struggles. Until this period, being a Peshmerga, fighting, and being imprisoned were only for men, but from this period onward, women also take on these roles.' According to Ms. Karimi, among the casualties of the Komala Party, the names of 103 women are mentioned. She also recalled that the Komala Party was a leftist party and added, 'For leftist parties, it was important to respect the culture of the peoples, and unfortunately, the Komala Party did not question the traditional culture of the Kurds, which was very anti-women.' Fatemeh Karimi emphasized that despite efforts, the structure of the Komala Party remains male-dominated, and even later, when this party formed an alliance with other parties to create the Communist Party of Iran, the process of women's access to power is still limited. So much so that the Komala Party accepted a woman into its central council for the first time in 2000, and in the Communist Party of Iran, a woman entered the central council in 2013. She added, 'Leftist parties at this time felt that with the arrival of socialism, the issue of women would be automatically resolved.' Regarding the presence of women in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), this researcher then recalled that at the first congress of this party, two women named 'Sakine Cansız' and 'Kader Yıldırım' were present. She referred to an analysis provided by Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the PKK, in the 'Manifesto of Kurdish Women', stating, 'In this analysis, he gives confidence to Kurds and Kurdish women and highlights the position of Kurdish women, but unfortunately, he falls into essentialism by saying that women are sacred goddesses and men created violence.' Fatemeh Karimi noted the increase in the presence of women in the PKK, mentioning that according to statistics, 20% of active members of the PKK were women between 1993 and 1994, while in 1987 this figure was 1%. She also stated that this party did not have a female leader until 2013 when the concept of 'joint leadership' was introduced. Ms. Karimi ultimately concluded that women have taken advantage of the opportunities available in this party and imposed their power on the party.