At its annual congress, the German-wide women's federation YJK-E evaluated past activities and set guidelines for upcoming work. "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî" remains the most important slogan of the Kurdish women's movement.
The Association of Women from Kurdistan in Germany (Yekitiyê Jinên Kurdistan-Elmanya, YJK-E) held a congress on Saturday with 170 delegates. Against the background of current political developments, the assembly discussed its own activities in the past year and its organisational structure. Lastly, the coming work was planned and a coordinating body was determined.
According to the women's federation information about the congress, the observation was made that the Kurdish people are fighting a struggle for existence and that the Turkish state under the Erdogan government is supported by both NATO and Russia in its campaign of destruction in Kurdistan. As examples, the YJK-E cites the suppression of all opposition voices in Turkey, the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan from the public, the chemical weapons attacks in Southern Kurdistan and the acute threat against the revolution of Rojava, which, as an alternative to capitalist modernity, makes the imperialist powers in the Middle East fear a loss of power. The Barzani clan in Southern Kurdistan is sharply criticised by the YJK-E for its cooperation with the Turkish state.
"Against this background, we held our congress on 29 October with 170 delegates," said the women's association. The Kurdish movement can only be successful if it is led by women. With this in mind, it was decided to remain continuously active in order to create publicity for the situation in Kurdistan. In addition, the necessity to strengthen the women's councils, communes and initiatives united in the association was pointed out. The motto is: "No woman should remain unorganised". The YJK-E wants to do educational work and give answers to the social, political and cultural problems of women.
An important point of discussion at the congress was the murders of the Kurdish women Jina Mahsa Amini in Tehran and Nagihan Akarsel in Sulaymaniyah. The YJK-E points out that the slogan "Jin Jiyan Azadî" (Woman, Life, Freedom), which is now used worldwide, can be traced back to Abdullah Öcalan and continues to be the main slogan of the Kurdish women's movement. In this sense, cooperation with women worldwide should be strengthened.
