Frashin Marfan

Shingal_The recent attacks launched by jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and mercenaries of the Turkish occupatiion on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in Aleppo,coinciding with the escalation of peotests in Eastern Kurdistan, were not merely military assaults. Rather, they constituted a direct threat to the course of internal peace in Syria and Eastern Kurdistan.

Women’s solidarity positions reveal that Kurdish society views internal peace as a strategic choice. However, repeated attacks threaten this path and open the door to further divisions. Therefore, any political discussion of these events must focus on a fundamental question: how can opportunities for peace be protected, and how can extremist forces be prevented from sabotaging them?

In this context, Yazidi women from Shingal expressed their full support for the peoples of North and East Syria and Eastern Kurdistan, affirming that the continuation of these attacks undermines dialogue, weakens trust among communities, and revives memories of war and persecution previously suffered by the Kurdish people.

 

“The sacrifices of the martyrs turned pain into strength and defeat into victory”

Pari Elias, a member of the Martyrs’ Families Foundation in Shingal, recalled the souls of the martyrs of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, affirming that “the recent attacks are nothing but an extension of the crimes of 2014 in Shingal, when forces of extremist ideology attempted to crush the will of our people. Yet the sacrifices of the martyrs transformed pain into strength and defeat into victory.”

Speaking with determination, she said:
“In the name of the leaders Ziyad Aleppo and Deniz Jiya, and in the name of all the male and female fighters who rose as martyrs, I send a revolutionary salute to the resistance of the people of Sheikh Maqsoud and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Their pure blood is a torch of freedom that will never be extinguished.”

She added, “Today, we stand shoulder to shoulder with North and East Syria and Eastern Kurdistan, declaring our full support for their resistance. We affirm that unity is the strongest weapon against occupation and extremist ideology. Neither forces nor reactionary thought can break the will of peoples who have chosen the path of freedom.”

Pari Elias addressed a message to North and East Syria, stating:
“From Shingal and from every part of Kurdistan, we declare that the blood of the martyrs is our eternal covenant, and that Kurdish women will remain a symbol of resilience and a fundamental partner in the struggle for liberation until inevitable victory is achieved.”

She also raised her voice in a revolutionary salute to the resistance in Eastern Kurdistan, saying:
“The people there have risen with courage. We salute their uprising and stand beside their women who took to the streets in defense of their rights. When a people rises for dignity and rights, we will support them until our last breath.”

She emphasized that “women are killed and suppressed every day before the eyes of a world that claims to defend human rights. Yet we say that a woman who raises her voice demanding her rights carries the banner of freedom, fighting so that children will not become victims of tyrants, confronting repression with an unbreakable will.”

She declared full support for the resistance and uprisings in Eastern Kurdistan, stating that “their steadfastness is a message to the world that freedom is not granted—it is taken.”

 

“The attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh carry the mentality of ISIS”

For her part, Maria Shingali, co-chair of Khansour Municipality, sent a revolutionary salute to the resistance of the peoples of North and East Syria. She affirmed that the ongoing battle is not unfamiliar to the Yazidis, who lived through the same tragedy in 2014 and faced the same extremist mentality.

“We tasted the bitterness of pain,” she said, “and today we see that attacks once again focus on women and children. These assaults carry the same ISIS mentality, even if they appear under different names. We clearly say that we will not abandon North and East Syria—we will remain by our people’s side until the end.”

She added:
“The people there must know that we stand with them shoulder to shoulder, sharing their pain and resistance. North and East Syria is not alone. Our voice is one, our struggle is one, and our blood has mingled for freedom and dignity. No force can break the will of united peoples, and the flame of resistance will never be extinguished as long as women raise the banner of freedom.”

 

Strong solidarity with the people of North and East Syria

She affirmed:
“Today we are one body and one voice. We fully understand that these attacks target our existence and identity, because they do not want our peoples to remain free and steadfast on their land. But no matter how intense their attacks or how many massacres they commit, they will not break our will or stop our struggle.”

She noted that they have reached a historic stage in which mutual support and self-protection have become tangible realities, and that the peoples of North and East Syria and Eastern Kurdistan are struggling with free will—something she described as a source of great pride.

She added that the uprising of peoples to protect their land and dignity sends a revolutionary message to the world:
“Freedom is not granted—it is taken. We stand with these peoples until the end, sharing their pain and resistance, affirming that North and East Syria is not alone and that our voice will remain one until inevitable victory.”

 

“We will remain until the end in support of a society striving for freedom”

Maria Shingali criticized states’ responses to their peoples’ demands for rights, describing them as a disgrace to humanity as a whole:
“In Eastern Kurdistan, women and the people rose demanding their rights, but the Iranian state confronted them with bullets. We consider this a major crime and an indelible stain of shame. If a state claims to protect its people and then kills them when they raise their voices, where can a human being seek their rights?”

She issued a revolutionary call expressing unity and determination to resist:
“Across the world, women are subjected to the most horrific forms of oppression. Today we stand to break these chains and declare that our struggle for women’s rights will not stop. In Eastern Kurdistan, women’s rights are brutally crushed, and therefore we will not leave our sisters alone. We will remain by their side until the end, raising the banner of freedom and standing on the front lines against repression.”

She concluded:
“We share the same pain and carry the same hope. When we reclaim our rights, we will continue our struggle with even greater determination. We will remain until the end in support of societies striving for freedom. We see them as ourselves, and we declare that our people are not alone—we are all in one trench, fighting for dignity and freedom, and we will not retreat until victory is achieved.”