SARYA DENİZ

News Center- Courage is always a magic word for everyone. Courage is taking the first step toward a goal or a dream. Zeynep Kınacı (nom de guerre: Zilan) was a woman having a great life goal. She found herself in the struggle of her people and had the courage to take the first step. She has become a guiding spirit for all women by resisting.

Abdullah Öcalan: I can be a militant and a follower of Zilan

“I have a great life goal. I want to have a meaningful life and great action. I want to carry out this action because I love life and people very much. I want to be the symbol of Kurdish women,” said Zeynep Kınacı, who was immortalized on June 30, 1996 when she carried out a suicide attack in Dersim.

“The action carried out by Zilan was beyond expectations. I can be a militant and a follower of Zilan from now on,” said Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan after the action of Zilan. Zilan has become the symbol of women by writing the epic of resistance.

A cornerstone

The action carried out by Zeynep Kınacı was against the international conspiracy organized against Abdullah Öcalan and the politics of annihilation against the Kurdish people. Her action is known as a cornerstone in the history of the Kurdish Women’s Movement. When women led the revolution in Rojava, they used their bodies as a shield to protect the Kurdish people, just like Zeynep Kınacı.

One of these women was YPJ Commander Avesta Xabûr, who blew herself up on January 27, 2018 against the attacks of the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions in the Hemam village of Afrin’s Jindires district.

Avesta Xabûr had big goals. She always said that her dream and goal was to follow in the footsteps of Zeynep Kınacı (Zilan) and Gülnaz Karataş (Bêrîtan). Just like Zilan, Avesta Xabûr became a source of strength and confidence for her people and women by carrying out her action. Arîn Mirkan and Rêvana Rojava also followed in the footsteps of Zilan by resisting in Kobanê.

Rêvana Rojava (Medîne Mamo), who was inspired by Zilan, joined the Women's Defense Units (YPJ) in 2013 in order to protect her homeland. When ISIS attacked Kobanê in September 2014, she was just a one-year fighter. On September 27, 2014, a clash broke out between ISIS and the YPJ fighters in the village of Golmid, south of Kobanê. As the fighters ran out of ammunition, they had no chance of bringing ammunition from elsewhere. At that time, Rêvana Rojava carried out a suicide attack against ISIS in order to protect the fighters and the city of Kobanê and prevent ISIS from entering the city. She became immortal in the hearts of her people, just like Zilan.

Life of Zilan

Zeynep Kınacı was born in the Elmalı village of Malatya in 1972 as the youngest of seven siblings to a family of the Mamureki tribe. She studied social sciences at the Inönü University in Malatya and worked at the state hospital as a X-ray technician for a while. She married Mehmet Ali Atlı, who also studied social sciences at the same university. Her spouse was arrested in Adana in 1995. In 1995, she went to Dersim and joined the PKK.

On June 30, 1996, she blew herself up during a flag raising ceremony of the Turkish army in the center of the Dersim province as a protest the attacks on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan on May 6, 1996, known as the first steps of the international conspiracy.

A guiding spirit for women

The action of Zeynep Kınacı, well known as Zilan, was far beyond just a military action. Her action has inspired thousands of Kurdish women. Today, women in four parts of Kurdistan have joined the Kurdish Freedom Movement, inspiring all women over the world with the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” philosophy. Zeynep Kınacı, who wrote the manifesto of women's struggle, is still a guiding spirit for women’s struggle for freedom.