ARJÎN DİLEK ÖNCEL

Amed (Diyarbakır)- The Platform for Kurdish Women’s Unity held its 3rd conference in Amed between June 21-22, 2025 with the motto, “Bi yekitiya jinên Kurd, ber bi yekitiya neteweyî ve (English: Towards national unity with the unity of Kurdish women). About 150 women from cities in Türkiye and Kurdistan attended the two-day conference.

Workshops on the role and mission of Kurdish women

Four workshops on the role and mission of Kurdish women in “preserving Kurdish culture and language, building a democratic society and fighting all forms of gender-based violence” were held on the first day of the conference.

Final declaration emphasizes national unity

The final declaration of the two-day conference highlighted the role of Kurdish women in building national unity, preserving Kurdish culture and language, protecting social values, and building peace and democratic society. The declaration mentioned the “Call for Peace and Democratic Society” made by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27, 2025, stressing that the call was also a “road map” for Kurdish women.

NuJINHA spoke to Mülkiye Birtane, a Kurdish politician and women’s rights activist, about the conference.

‘Women’s unity gives hope to society’

Pointing to the long women’s struggle for peace and against violence, Mülkiye Birtane said, “The women’s unity gives hope to society when building peace and a democratic society is discussed.”

The Free Women’s Movement (Kurdish: Tevgera Jinên Azad-TJA) held 1st Conference of Kurdish Women Parliamentarians in Amed between May 28 and 29, 2025 with the participation of former and current parliamentarians from Kurdistan, Türkiye and the diaspora. Many former and current parliamentarians from Rojava participated in the conference virtually.

“Women parliamentarians came together in May to discuss the same issues,” said Mülkiye Birtane. “Women’s roles in politics, peace and national unity processes are important.”

‘Women play their roles in every process’

Mülkiye Birtane also talked about the issues discussed at the conference. “Four workshops were held at the conference to discuss what women should do to preserve Kurdish culture and language and build a national unity and a democratic life and how women should fight against all kinds of discrimination against women. I had fought to build national unity and a democratic society for many years; however, I had to stop making efforts due to my health problems. But we have a responsibility to play our role in such a process even though we have health problems or face obstacles.”

‘We fight for peace’

The statements of Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), in October 2024 and the call made by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan on February 27, 2025 initiated a new process in Türkiye. “This process is a hopeful process receiving social support. Wars never bring peace. Therefore, we fight for peace. One of the issues discussed at the conference was to fight for peace at all costs.”

Mülkiye Birtane pointed to the destructive effects of war and conflict on people and said, “Building peace is not easy. Eliminating the negative effects on society is very hard. We have more challenges ahead and we know that building peace and national unity will take time. Internal peace must first be built to build national unity.”

The Human Rights Association (IHD) held a meeting calling, “Road to Peace: Memory and Justice”, bringing together the families of soldiers, who lost their lives in the clashes, those who lost their lives during the curfews and in the Roboski Massacre, and the families of PKK members. At the meeting, the messages of Makbule Kaymaz, the mother of 12-year-old Uğur Kaymaz, who was murdered on November 21, 2004, and Ayşe Bülbül, the mother of Eren Bülbül, who was killed in a clash between the PKK and soldiers in 2017, were read. “the meeting was a step towards peace,” said Mülkiye Birtane. “Peace can be built with the joint efforts of the mothers of soldiers, police officers, Kurdish mothers and mothers of guerrillas because the pain felt by them is common.”

Women struggle for freedom, aiming to liberate men, who are enslaved by the system, Mülkiye Birtane stressed. “The ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ philosophy has been echoing all around the world. We see how Kurdish women’s struggle for freedom has become a role model for women’s movements over the world. Women are aware that this struggle has spread from Kurdistan to the world. Mr.Öcalan says, ‘If women are not free, society cannot be free’.”

‘We still have a long way to go’

“Women play their role in implementing the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ philosophy. But we still have a long way to go. Our society suffers from prostitution, harassment, rape and violence against women and children and economic violence. There is a war, and women are the ones who will stop it. Kurdish women are aware of these and they will play their roles. We will keep struggling and sharing our experiences. We will keep supporting each other and being in solidarity with each other.”