Young Women Leading The Revolution In Rojava

The  Movement of Revolutionary Young Women of Rojava has held its third conference with 230 delegates in the town of Girkê Legê in the Cizîre Canton, according to an article from Özgür Gündem. Participating delegates came from across the canton, and included members of both the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Cizîre Canton as well as the Rojava’s Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM).

Among a number of significant decisions taken at the congress was the establishment of a 15-person coordinating committee. TEV-DEM member Henîfe Hisên addressed the conference, which took place in a salon decorated with banners reading “we started young and will succeed young” and “there is no revolution without women.”  Hisên spoke of the need for a woman’s philosophy and mode of thinking to help destroy the current hegemonic order.

Leadership By Young Women

Berçem Xelil, a member of the Revolutionary Women’s Movement who spoke to Özgür Gündem following the conference, recalled that large barriers had been established to keep young women from being seen in society, but “however women began to organize themselves around the philosophy of Leader Apo together with the beginning of the popular revolution in Rojava.” Xelil continued, saying “some were saying to us ‘you are women you cannot do anything.’ In particular they were saying that ‘politics can’t be done and that you cannot save your people from this situation.’ But we young women surprised all of them. We went from family to family and made them believe that we could change things.” Xelil said that such work began within families, “because families had become the smallest building blocks of the state. In particular they wanted to shut up young women and did not want them to undertake a revolution. However women and youth provided the leadership of this popular revolution despite all of these prejudices.”

No Tolerance For Violence Against Women

Xelil evluated the changes since the revolution, saying “today we have our own communes and councils. We have homes for young women. There is a women’s school. This is the message which we give to everyone and which they must understand, and it is the message that young women can organize themselves.” Despite the prejudice of social hegemony, Xelil explained how they “had shown that the place of women was not in the kitchen and that if they wanted they could found their own army.”

Xelil also said that violence against women would no longer be tolerated, saying “we look at any violence against women as if it was done to ourselves and we work to forestall it.”

Some Decisions Taken At The Conference

-The Freedom of Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan would be a principal of all work

-Work would begin to combat child marriage

-Young women should play a role in every social sphere

-The gains of the revolution would be struggled for and protected