MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

 Amed- Nagihan Akarsel, Kurdish journalist, human rights defender, academic and member of the Jineology Academy, was a woman working for women and her people. On October 4, 2022, she was attacked and murdered days before the opening of the Library, Archive and Research Center founded by her in the city of Sulaymaniyah, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Nagihan Akarsel was one of dozens of pioneering women. For years, she worked as an editor for the Dicle News Agency, which was closed down by an emergency decree in 2016. Then, she went to Sulaymaniyah, Makhmour, Afrin and Raqqa to carry out studies on Jineology (the science of women). She had been living in Sulaymaniyah for a long time when she was assassinated. She collected women’s stories and gave lectures on Jineology so she was known by everyone. She knew Kurdish history very well. She was founder of Jineoloji magazine and pioneered many projects of the Jineology Academy. The aim of the attack on her was to destroy the women’s struggle.

Although the police of Sulaymaniyah announced publicly that they had arrested the perpetrators of the assassination, no legal or political measures have been taken about the assassination until now. The killer of Nagihan Akarsel was identified as İsmail Peker. According to reports, he was hired by the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (MIT) to carry out the assassination.

Her colleagues take over her work

Today marks the first anniversary of Nagihan Akarsel’s murder. Nagihan Akarsel, who inspired women with her writings, poems, effort and strong stance, is not forgotten by women. Her articles and interviews are still published by many newspapers and magazines. Her dream of opening the Kurdish Women’s Library was realized by her colleagues.

‘She was a woman, who always struggled’

In an interview with NuJINHA, Rojda Yıldız, editorial board member of Jineology magazine, talked about the struggle of Nagihan Akarsel. Although she did not work with Nagihan Akarsel, she read her articles published by the Jineology magazine. “Nagihan Akarsel was a Kurdish woman, who spent her whole life struggling,” said Rojada Yıldız, indicating that Nagihan Akarsel was targeted by the Turkish state because she was a Kurdish woman and her determination in struggle. “Nagihan was one of the people who struggled for what a society should be like and what the lifestyle of the Kurdish identity should be like. After working in the media field and on women’s freedom, she faced exile. Despite that, she never gave up struggling. She struggled against capitalist modernity and patriarchy. When you struggle against capitalist modernity and patriarchy, you are targeted.”

‘Her last article was about Jin’

Rojda Yıldız also talks about the last article written by Nagihan Akarsel. “In her last article, she drew attention to the meaning and integrity of the word ‘Jin’ (Women). After the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini, the slogan, ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Women, Life, Freedom)’ echoed everywhere. Nagihan was perhaps one of the people who wrote and talked about this slogan the most. Her last article titled, ‘This age needs an archaic voice’ was about Jina Mahsa Amini. She wrote that voice is ‘Jin’, a voice that complements our energy and makes us feel that we are not alone in the universe.”

‘The identity of free women was targeted’

Rojda Yıldız thinks that the attack on Nagihan Akarsel targeted the identity of free women. “Nagihan was targeted because she struggled against the current system. Before being assassinated, she worked to open the Kurdish Women’s Library in Sulaymaniyah. Assassinations have been recently carried out against the people of Southern Kurdistan because the people of Southern Kurdistan are the people who never give up.”

‘We will keep working and struggling’

Rojda Yıldız concluded her speech saying, “The male/state violence against women is closely related to the recent process. We are living in a period, when women’s freedom and rights are blocked; women take to the streets to demand their freedom and rights. In such a period, resisting women are targeted and killed. Although one of our colleagues was murdered, we will not take a step back. We will keep working and struggling. We shoulder Nagihan’s struggle.”