Friends of Rojava North America releases solidarity message on International Women's Day - KurdishQuestion.com

10.3.17

Friends of Rojava North America releases solidarity message on International Women's Day - KurdishQuestion.com: The western press has been fascinated with the 10,000 women fighting on the front lines against ISIS in the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) militia, including a new militia of Yazidi women, liberated from ISIS’ sexual slavery by Kurdish-led forces. However, these journalists and commentators have either ignored what these women are fighting for, or stripped them of their revolutionary agency by characterizing their motivation as the “revenge of a woman scorned.” We honor the extraordinary courage and deep sacrifice of our sisters who have taken up arms in defense of the revolution. Beyond the simple possession of a weapon, women in Rojava are engaged in a liberatory strategy of “self-defense” in the ideological, psychological, and physical sense. Women and men are engaged in a process of liberating society from the structures and habits of domination and exploitation of women, toward a public and private life characterized by participation, equality and mutual respect. While we admire all that has been accomplished thus far, we recognize that this process is on-going, never straightforward, and deserving of our continuing support.