Afrin women call to act against violence

The Afrin Region Young Women's Union made a statement regarding the violence and oppression against women.

Dozens of women gathered in Serdem Camp in the Shehba canton carrying Young Women's Union flags, photographs of Kurdish people's leader Abdullah Öcalan and banners saying ‘The young woman revolt is revenge’.

The statement was read in Arabic by Gulê Cimo, co-chair of the Afrin Region Youth and Sports Committee, who said: "Women have fought for the sake of society in all areas of life throughout history. Tens of women activists and feminist movements have chosen resistance. Women, who have imposed many things on the state and international societies with their struggles, have increased the resistance.”

The statement underlined: "As the struggle of women increases, the hatred of the male mentality that dominates the world politically and militarily also increased."

The statement added: "This mentality has used women for their own interests through power, the state and the economy. Violence has increased all over the world and can no longer be hidden.” During the coronavirus pandemic, said the statement, “direct and indirect violence, murder, rape, suicide, kidnapping and migration have increased. Afrin has witnessed first hand all these crimes. Here these crimes against women are being committed by the AKP-affiliated mercenaries.”

The statement also reminded that “suicide and murder incidents in the regions of North and East Syria have increased and so did our organizational responsibilities, our resistance and our struggle against this dirty mentality.”

The women of Afrin “call on the international community, human rights organizations, feminist movements to take action against the crimes committed. Because only a few agreements, laws and articles are not enough to save women from their suffering."