No news has been received from the three politicians of the Kurdistan Free Women's Organization (RJAK), who were detained by the KDP forces on their way back from a commemoration held in Shengal for those who were slaughtered during the ISIS massacre against the Yazidis in August 2014.

The Free Women’s Movement (TJA) made a written statement and called for the immediate release of the detained women politicians.

The statement said that Kurdish women are intimidated and removed from public life as a result of a racist and nationalist mindset. “For a century, Kurdish women have been forced to struggle against both male domination and the dirty policies of the occupying forces. Our self-understanding, our existence, our role and mission in life have been underrated and we have been made into slaves.”

'WE NEVER KEEP SILENT, NEVER GIVE UP'

The statement recalled that there has been a long-standing civil war as a result of dirty policies. “As Kurdish women, we have never been silent in this respect, as in all areas of life, and we have never stopped fighting for peace and a dignified life. We were at times taken prisoner by the barbarian fighters of ISIS, we were massacred by the occupying forces while doing politics like Hevrin Xelef and Sakine Cansız. Sometimes we were killed in our party buildings like Deniz Poyraz at a time when racism was deliberately raised, and sometimes we were murdered because of our identity like our friends, four of whom were women, who were massacred in Konya just because they were Kurdish.

“Despite all these attacks, we have never renounced our struggle for a free and equal life. We have never renounced our organization in all areas of life against attacks. We came together and organized around our women's liberation paradigm. However, it is unacceptable to us that Kurdish women are oppressed by the Kurds themselves.

As a result of the attack carried out by barbarian ISIS on August 3, 2014, more than 7,000 Yazidi women were taken prisoner, many of them were killed, and raped. We know that there are still hundreds of missing Yazidi women. We once again commemorate those who lost their lives in the genocide.

As Kurdish women, we have struggled to stop this genocide from the very beginning, and we continued our struggle for justice and a new life together with the Yazidi women. As Kurdish women in four parts of Kurdistan, we participated in the successive commemorations held in Shengal, and we shared our people’s sorrow. However, three Kurdish women politicians from the RJAK, who attended the commemoration this year, were detained in Hewler by the Kurdistan Regional Government, and they have not been released yet. RJAK administrators Xewla Mihemed Hesen and Ciwana Ebdulbaqî and member Seyran Ehmed Hesen are still in custody and no information has been released about them.

'TAKE SIDES WITH KURDISH WOMEN'

We express once again that we will never accept such a blow to the common struggle of Kurdish women. Just as we stood together against ISIS and organized a new life and solidarity together as women in 2014, we will not stop sharing our sorrow and commemorating this genocide together. We consider the detention of women politicians by the Kurdistan Regional Government as a stance against the Kurdish women's struggle. The Shengal genocide commemorations are a part of a great women's resistance struggle that has been going on for more than 7 years.

We urge the Kurdistan Regional Government to take sides with Kurdish women and to act with a spirit of national unity. While the Kurdish women are fighting against the invading forces, the most honourable thing to be done by Kurdish institutions and organizations is to stand by this struggle and embrace it with a national spirit.

The three women politicians who have been active in women's struggle should be released immediately! Long live our women's struggle! We are marching towards freedom with a spirit of national unity.”

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