The ‘I Need Peace Women’s Initiative,’ founded by women from various circles involved in the struggle for women’s liberation, is issuing a collective call for peace in response to the growing violence, war, and attacks on women’s achievements in Turkey and Kurdistan. Initiative member Ruşen Seydaoğlu spoke to ANF about the initiative’s founding process, its motivations, and core demands.
Ruşen Seydaoğlu explained that the roots of the women’s initiative go back to the 1990s. She said it was shaped in Turkey, particularly as a line of solidarity against forced displacement, special war policies, and urban repression faced by Kurdish women.
Seydaoğlu said: “The women’s movement that exists today is not just a response to current needs; it is being built as a continuation of a deep-rooted past and a long-standing quest for peace and freedom.”
Displacement, trusteeship, and war brought women together
Ruşen Seydaoğlu stated that the forced displacement of the early 1990s, the trauma experienced by the Kurdish population in metropolitan areas, and the implementation of special war policies brought women together. She emphasized that the first acts of grassroots outreach during that period were the forerunners of today’s initiative.
She noted that the closure of women’s institutions, the abolition of the ‘jinkart’ system, and the dismantling of women’s centers, particularly following the appointment of government trustees, constituted a direct attack on the gains of the women’s struggle. She said: “This coming together created a common ground where feminist women, women from the Kurdish women’s movement, and women from socialist circles united.”
We came together to strengthen the struggle
Ruşen Seydaoğlu noted that the initiative was formed following the ‘Women Speak for Peace’ workshop held in Istanbul. She explained that the rise of right-wing conservative policies and the uncontrollable spread of violence have especially targeted Kurdish women.
Seydaoğlu said: “Today, war policies are not only carried out on battlefronts; women’s bodies are being made direct targets of war. Practices such as abduction, sexual violence, and human trafficking have become part of this war regime.
We created this initiative out of a concern for coming together, by correctly reading the reasons behind the rise of women’s movements around the world. Because a war policy implemented anywhere on this planet, or the ecological destruction caused by governments, ultimately affects women in other geographies too.”
War policies exploit women
Ruşen Seydaoğlu emphasized that the practices targeting Alawite and Druze women in Syria clearly reveal the impact of today’s war strategies on women. She said that tens of thousands of women and girls have been abducted in attacks against Syrian and Alawite women.
Seydaoğlu spoke about the traumas experienced by women in the Middle East and stressed the vital importance of peace as a force of restoration and healing in the region. She said: “We know that women are being exploited in a deeply layered way by war policies, they are being erased, denied, and subjected to annihilation. That is why the struggle for peace is vital for women.”
Women must be included in the commissions
According to Ruşen Seydaoğlu, peace is not an issue to be addressed solely at the negotiation table between states. She argued that peace must be built from the grassroots, must become a social process, and that women must be active subjects within it.
Seydaoğlu said: “No peace process can be truly restorative if women are not present at the table, in the commissions, and on the ground. A peace process does not automatically bring freedom and equality. Peace itself is a process of struggle.
We do not imagine peace as a process run by state bureaucrats. Women must be present at the table, in the process, and within the commissions. Women’s existence must be made central to this issue.”
Seydaoğlu said that the initiative has so far addressed people with three demands: “Decriminalizing political activity, ending the policy of government-appointed trustees, and halting cross-border military operations are our primary demands. Democratic politics must be allowed to function, and war must end in the regions where Kurds, Druze, and Arabs live.”
The peace struggle must become social
One of the core goals of the initiative is to underline that peace is not merely a political objective but a tool for social transformation. Ruşen Seydaoğlu emphasized that the socialization of peace is among their primary aims, and that this process must be shaped not by the question “Is there even a war, that we should demand peace?” but by the peoples’ aspirations for freedom.
Seydaoğlu said: “Peace, as we define it, can only be achieved through a struggle embedded deeply within the fabric of society. Peace cannot be built unless women’s organized structures are strengthened and unless they have a voice in local spaces. Issues such as poverty among women, invisible labor, exclusion from production, and rising male violence are directly linked to the logic of war. The peace struggle is also a path toward making women’s labor and freedom visible once again.”
Women must join the peace struggle
Ruşen Seydaoğlu emphasized that the ‘I Need Peace Women’s Initiative’ is not limited to a specific group of women, but is an open call to society and to all women: “If we are not large enough in numbers, if we cannot form a collective feminist consciousness, then we will not be able to build the peace we have dreamed of the peace for which we have paid such a heavy price. The only way out of this spiral of war is for women to join the peace struggle with the determination to build their own lives.”