The Kurdish women's movements TJA and TAJÊ expressed their solidarity with Indian women who took to the streets in protest at the rape and murder of a woman and also displayed a banner reading ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’.
The Free Women's Movement (TJA) and the Yazidi Women's Freedom Movement (TAJÊ) published a letter of solidarity in support of the resistance that started after the rape and murder of a female doctor in India.
The letter published by TJA said: “Dear Indian sisters, from Kurdistan, we salute your resistance against rape in your country. We see that misogyny in India, as in Kurdistan, is based on sexism, nationalism and religionism. The slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ [Woman, Life, Freedom] is the philosophy of free life and this philosophy forms the basis of our struggle against the male-dominated mentality that cannot tolerate women's freedom.”
In its letter, TAJÊ greeted the struggle of Indian women and said, “We greet you from Shengal, the homeland of our women who are the symbols of resistance. We are watching with great appreciation the struggle of women in India for freedom. The demonstration of thousands of women with the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ gave us morale and strength. We see, salute and congratulate your struggle.”
Background
A female doctor was raped and murdered on 9 August in Calcutta, West Bengal, India. Women took to the streets in many parts of the country. Women held hands and chanted ‘we want justice’ in different demonstrations near universities, theatre halls and bus terminals. “Never before have we seen such a large gathering of women marching at night in the city,” said journalists working in the area.
Since the murder, women have been organising ‘take back the night’ protests across the country. On the 8th day of the protests, thousands of women shouted for ‘justice’ on the streets and carried the banner ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ [Woman, Life, Freedom].
