RONÎDA HACÎ

Hasakah- Men in the city of Hasakah, northeastern Syria, have attended the activities and events organized to mark International Women’s Day, celebrated annually on March 8. “March 8 is a day of resistance against oppression,” said Fadî Cico, a Syriac man in Hasakah. “Women waged a great struggle in the Rojava Revolution with the spirit of March 8. Women have important roles in all facets of life. Today, they struggle against patriarchy and have made great progress. One of their gains is the co-presidential system operated by the Autonomous Administration (of North and East Syria). Through this system, women have created social and scientific change.”

‘Those in power have turned men into their slaves’

March 8 is a day for women to demand their freedom and rights, Fadî Cico stressed. “In Rojava, women have led a revolution to build a free and equal life thanks to the thoughts and philosophy of leader Abdullah Öcalan. March 8 is a day of struggle against oppression as well as against patriarchy. The truth is that those in power have turned us into their slaves. Women struggle not only for their rights but also for building a free and a healthy society.”

‘Syria will be revived by free women’

Fadî Cico also mentioned the fight of women against terrorist groups in northeastern Syria. “As civilians and the people of North and East Syria, we went to the Tishreen Dam and we witnessed the resistance led by women. Syria will be revived by the struggle of free women.”

‘Women have written history’

Usame Mihemed Elî, a Kurdish man in Hasakah, thinks that women’s history and struggle have been rewritten thanks to the thoughts and ideology of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. “The Rojava Revolution is a mirror of the world because it was led by women. Women have struggled, writing their history in gold letters.”

‘Any society rejecting women’s freedom will be oppressed’

Usame Mihemed also talked about the ongoing resistance on the Tishreen Dam. “Women have made the supreme sacrifice on the Tishreen Dam. The first civilian killed in a Turkish attack was a woman. We draw our strength from women because women have the power to break down the walls of fear and slavery. Any society rejecting women’s freedom will be oppressed.”