Women's protest after attack in Paris: "Je suis Evîn”

In Paris, women demanded a complete investigation of the attack in Paris that left three dead and three injured and contradicted the thesis of a racist lone perpetrator.

One week after the deadly attack in Paris, women protested in front of the French Family Ministry demanding a complete investigation of the crime. The Kurdish Women's Movement in Europe (TJK-E) called for the protest. The activists carried signs with the photo of the murdered Evîn Goyî (Emine Kara) and the inscription "Je suis Evîn".

Evîn Goyî was a leading figure of the Kurdish women's movement. She was injured in the fight against the "Islamic State" (ISIS) and lived in Europe since 2019, where she campaigned until the end for the clarification of the political murders of Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez in Paris ten years ago. Along with Evîn Goyî, musician Mîr Perwer (Mehmet Şirin Aydın) and long-time activist Abdurrahman Kızıl were killed in the attack on 23 December, and three other people were injured.

The rally on Friday in front of the Ministry of Family and Equality in Paris was opened with a minute of silence. Medya Botan, activist of the TJK-E, pointed out in a speech that the attack had taken place in the run-up to the attack of 9 January 2013 and that this had still not been cleared up: "As a Kurdish women's movement, we appeal to the French state and the European Union: If these massacres are not cleared up, France and the EU are complicit. As Kurdish women and as Kurdish people, we will continue to fight against fascist systems and the politics of extermination. Nobody should try to stop us with murders."

“The values fought for by women like Evîn Goyî in the political and social spheres have already shaped the 21st century and this struggle will be resolutely continued, said Medya Botan.

Ayşe Yumli Yeter of the Socialist Women's Federation (SKB) said in a speech: "We demand accountability for the bullets fired at Evîn." The activist rejected the thesis of a racist lone perpetrator, saying, "We don't believe that. We believe that the murderer made his plan in prison. With whom did he make this plan? Was he visited by members of the Turkish counter-guerrilla in prison? With whom did he have contact?" France is obliged to clarify these questions, she said. However, she added, the French state is collaborating with the Turkish regime and has done nothing to date to stop the bombing of hospitals, schools and grain silos in Rojava and the continued chemical weapons attacks by the Turkish army in southern Kurdistan. "Why have the shootings of Evîn, Mîr Perwer and Abdurrahman been allowed to happen? France is collaborating with Turkish colonialism," said the SKB representative.

Other speeches were given by a CNT representative and a spokesperson for the French Women's Coordination. The speeches described the attack on the Ahmet Kaya Cultural Centre and two other Kurdish institutions as a targeted terrorist attack and expressed solidarity with the Kurdish people. The rally ended with the slogan "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" (Woman, Life, Freedom).