EBİR MUHAMED

Qamishlo- Kurdish women journalists in four parts of Kurdistan and all around the world are celebrating Kurdish Women’s Journalist Day, October 7. The day is dedicated to the memory of Gurbetelli Ersöz, a Kurdish journalist and Türkiye’s first female editor-in-chief who was killed on October 7, 1997.

‘We maintain the legacy of the martyrs’

“As women journalists in North and East Syri, we maintain the legacy of the martyrs such as Gurbetelli Ersöz, Deniz Fırat and Nujiyan Erhan,” Cûdî Elî, a reporter of Ronahî TV in North and East Syria, told NuJINHA. “They left us achievements in Kurdish journalism. Women journalists played an important role in the development of the press in Rojava Kurdistan. Their struggle paves the way for us. Therefore, we see them as pioneers of truth. We keep reporting the truth by following in the footsteps of them. Thanks to them, women in Rojava have their own channels, magazines, news agencies and radio stations today.”

‘The attacks cannot intimidate us’

Êva Hesê, a television presenter at Rojava TV, recalled the Turkish drone attack that killed two journalists in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq. “The Turkish state always tries to break the strong will of Kurdish women. On August 23, a Turkish drone targeted a vehicle carrying journalists in the Said Sadiq district of Sulaymaniyah, killing two women journalists, Gülistan Tara and Hêro Bahadîn. The Turkish attacks cannot intimidate us; on the contrary, they strengthen us. Women journalists in North and East Syria make great efforts to report the truth.”

‘Conventions are not implemented’

The attacks on journalists in four parts of Kurdistan have intensified for four years, stressed Lava Îbrahîm, a reporter of the Nefel Production. “In addition to the current war, a special war has been being waged against journalists. In August 2023, a Turkish drone targeted the vehicle of JIN TV in North and East Syria, killing a press worker. In august 2024, a Turkish drone targeted two women journalists in Sulaymaniyah. On July 23, 2024, journalist Pakhshan Azizi was sentenced to death. In Türkiye, hundreds of journalists are behind bars. In Southern Kurdistan, journalists have been prevented from reporting. Journalists are targeted to prevent them from reporting the crimes committed by the Turkish state.”

Speaking about conventions protecting journalists in war zones, Lava Îbrahîm said,” Unfortunately, these conventions are not implemented. The Women’s Press Union (YRJ) has carried out activities to protect the rights of journalists in North and East Syria. As women journalists in northeastern Syria, we are always in solidarity with each other. We are lucky to have the YRJ, protecting our rights. Despite everything, we will keep reporting the truth.”