NEWS CENTER_International momentum supporting the peace process launched by leader Abdullah Öcalan is growing, as this continuous support is manifested in a series of statements and declarations issued by prominent figures and influencers representing a wide spectrum of intellectual visions and diverse struggle fields around the world.

In a message addressed to leader Abdullah Öcalan, Indian philosopher Gayatri Spivak highlighted the pivotal role played by gender equality and education in establishing a democratic society, expressing her support for leader Öcalan's vision of "democratic existence."

The text of the message said:

"My dear brother Abdullah Öcalan, I have been impressed by your resilience in the face of your long imprisonment, which you often spent in solitary confinement. I was also deeply affected by your call for gender equality. Now a framework law has been issued that enhances the chances of your release. Your real problems begin now, because you have proposed a more complex and more productive path for democratic existence, instead of adopting a quasi-national concept for self-protection. In order to achieve this, there is a need for an educational system aimed at developing a sustainable epistemological approach in children, ensuring that in the future, when the time for their voting comes, they absorb the paradox of democracy: freedom for ourselves; and a strong desire for equality and a just world for others who are not like us.

I too have been trying to do this for nearly 60 years: by teaching European literature at Columbia University to the elite; as well as by running primary schools for children of marginalized groups in society, such as those who do not own land, the illiterate, and those called 'untouchables,' in addition to children of indigenous peoples. Others teach how to produce knowledge, but some of us must teach how to learn.

Teaching children the desire to build a just society acquires extreme importance especially today; because the world is passing through deep collapse and fracture due to climate change and artificial intelligence."

Who Is Gayatri Spivak?

Gayatri Spivak was born in India on 24 February 1942. She is a prominent figure in the field of literary theory, philosophy, and postcolonial thought, particularly famous for her approach in postcolonial theory and subaltern studies, where she explores mechanisms of representation, power relations, and patterns of knowledge production by asking: "Can the subaltern speak?" After pursuing her academic career at leading universities in the United States, Gayatri Spivak has entrenched solid links between literary theory, feminism, and postcolonial thought. Her works contribute to a critical reassessment of the concepts of identity, subjectivity, and resistance in postcolonial societies.