Zeynep Kınacı was 24 years old when she blew herself up near Turkish soldiers who were singing the Turkish national anthem, killing around ten soldiers while wounding over thirty, on 30 June 1996 in the center of Dersim. With her action, the trained nurse, whose nom de guerre was "Zîlan", set a beacon for the Kurdish freedom movement, especially the women's movement. Kurds all around the world pay tribute to Zîlan on the 27th anniversary of her martyrdom. 

Kongra Star, the umbrella organization of women in North-East Syria, released a statement to mark the 27th anniversary of Zilan’s martyrdom, vowing to follow in the footsteps of Zilan and all the martyrs of the freedom struggle.

The statement underlined that Zilan, with her meaningful action, became the voice of women fighting for their lives and country and made history by becoming the ideological centre of the revolution line of women and freedom.

Kongra Star emphasized that thousands of women and youths consider Zilan as a symbol of freedom as she brought Öcalan’s philosophy to light.

The statement concluded: “As Kongra Star, we review our struggle and action style based on the path of Zilan. We promise to follow in her footsteps under the motto ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ [Woman, Life, Freedom].”