PAJK’s Agirî: Rape is an organized policy of the state

"By raping the children the future is being tied down in chains, and by raping women it is the future and the present time that the state usurps."

Member of the Education Board of the Kurdistan Women's Liberation Party (PAJK) Dr. Evîn Devrîm Agirî stated that systematic rape is being implemented as an organized state policy in Kurdistan, with which it is intended to break the will of women and of the whole society.

Member of the Education Board of the Kurdistan Women's Liberation Party (PAJK) Dr. Evîn Devrîm Agirî answered the questions of the ANF regarding the background and objective of systematic rape.

Dr. Agirî stressed that the state has relied its very existence on this fact long since and said: "The mere definition of the state itself proves this fact. What is the state's definition? It is the right of spending the bridal night with the woman. After defining itself on such a deviant basis, there is undoubtedly no innocence and morale to be expected from it. In other words, the state itself says about its own definition: 'This is what I am'."

Dr. Agirî explained that in this framework the state aims with the rape of women at wresting the power of the society's free life and conscience and lay the foundation of controlling the entire society. She continued: "If one takes a look at the flow of history, one can see easily that the essence that keeps the state alive is this very fact."

Evîn Devrîm Agirî stressed that with each and every invasion that has happened in history, stories of rape have been left behind, and currently also the invasion of the AKP in Kurdistan has made such rape stories vivid, saying:

"With this they generate deep impacts and convey a message. The message says: 'I can play with you to my heart’s content. I can leave you without a will'. This message is delivered for the most part to the Kurdish society and all societies that harbour cultural values, the power to create, defend their domain and own a free will. As all those societies that preserve a high position for their women are targeted, the Kurds have also become its aim. For this reason the state is concluding, in order to succeed fully in invading new lands, it would need to attack the women to cause a deep crackdown of the entire society. It is also convinced, that by assaulting the woman, playing with the will, honour and the sensible factors of the society, it would be able to dissolve the society. This was the policy of the Turkish state during the bloody crackdown of the Dersim insurgency of the Kurds. In Shengal it was systematically conducted by the ISIS gangs. And interestingly, it is once more implemented in Northern Kurdistan as well by the AKP. The aim is each time the very same.

However, a society that has inherited the conscience and struggle of their women, can never be killed. The most important factor however is for the society to take an opposing stance. The woman is now in possession of her own party, of her own military and an enormous struggle. She can free herself. But for the society to be able to break these chains, it needs to focus on a struggle and be ready for efforts."

Dr. Agirî recalled the words of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan that 'the stage of the woman's freedom is the stage of the society's freedom' and added: "The AKP is afraid of this stage. And for this reason it tries to break the will of women by means of rape, to take her hostage and thus to prevent the society from become free".

Dr. Agirî emphasized the following point in particular: "The most strenuous thing in the world is to efface the concept of freedom. However one must not rely on that wholly. First and foremost women and the youth, the entire society needs to rise up fiercely against this imminent barbarity that is planned. These mountains, this military formation and this struggle do exist for this purpose."

Regarding the silence and the struggle that is a must against the rape culture, Dr. Agirî stated that:

"By raping the children the future is being tied down in chains, and by raping women it is the future and the present time that the state usurps. Additionally, when on a people like the Kurds a suchlike method is imposed, then the very honour and dignity of an entire people is played with. This is why efforts are made to take the free will of a whole people captive. A body and a society that have been subject to rape, is neither in psychological terms nor in the corporal aspect in a stable condition anymore. This is well known. Our women that faced these cases must never accept those acts, nor must they ever accept suchlike acts done to our children.

To rise up and defy this practice in a struggle, is a humane and societal responsibility. Only so, will the past, the present and the future be saved."