"The aggressiveness of the rulers is a sign of fear of free women"

The Free Women's Movement (TJA) is at the focus of repression in Turkey. TJA activist Xecê Şen sees the aggressiveness of the Turkish regime as a sign of fear of free women, underlining that the Kurdish women's struggle can never be put down.

The Turkish state is deliberately attacking the Kurdish women's movement. Female politicians and activists are arrested or murdered. In particular, women who became symbolic figures in the Kurdish freedom struggle are a thorn in the side of the AKP/MHP government. Sakine Cansız, Leyla Güven, Sebahat Tuncel, Aysel Doğan, Ayşe Gökkan and Aysel Tuğluk are just a few of them. The list could be extended endlessly. Recently, political repression in Turkey has been directed particularly strongly against the Free Women's Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad, TJA), an umbrella organization of Kurdish women activists and politicians.

TJA activist Xecê Şen spoke to ANF in Amed about the concept of attack against the women's movement and stated, "Where there is struggle and free will, an attack mechanism is set in motion. Reactionary and sinister systems have always intervened against free women. This is a characteristic of authoritarian regimes."

Remarking that women have played a role in many uprisings in Kurdish history, Xecê Şen continued, "All the women who have become symbolic figures in Kurdistan's history have defined themselves as successors to women who fought before them. As TJA, we are also successors and have inherited a legacy. The occupation regime is attacking this heritage. Kurdish women have always continued their struggle despite all attacks. The resistance continues today. For every woman murdered or arrested, there are dozens of new women."

For Xecê Şen, it is clear that the aggressive policy of the rulers against the women's movement is a sign of fear: "They see every small step as a danger to themselves. Because they consider women's sense of freedom dangerous, their aggressiveness knows no bounds. Their special war policy is directed primarily against women. Not a day goes by when women are not affected by this policy."

Nevertheless, the women's struggle continues to evolve, Xecê Şen continued, "As the Kurdish women's movement, we have created a new modernity in the world in philosophical, theoretical, organizational and political terms. This modernity is considered by many women's communities as a reference to their uprisings against the patriarchal system of domination. Many women's movements in the world understand the attacks on Kurdish women as attacks on themselves, because the Kurdish women have proved their sincerity with their struggle. Therefore, our struggle cannot be beaten back. It will always continue and with all its colors."