A member of the Coordination of the Free Women’s Community of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR), Çîmen Şine spoke to ANF on the occasion of 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, discussing the resistance of women from Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) against the Iranian state and the broader women’s movements rising across Iran.
Here is the first part of the interview.
The Iranian state, unable to digest the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî (Woman, Life, Freedom)” uprising led by women from Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) in 2022,a movement that quickly crossed Iran’s borders and spread across the world, has spent the past three years intensifying policies of arrest, imprisonment and execution against dissidents. Yet despite all these repressive measures, has the state succeeded in suppressing the people’s struggle for justice, freedom and equality?
The uprising, or serhildan, ignited by the killings of Shiler Resuli and Jina Amini in Eastern Kurdistan, created a momentum that not only spread through Iranian cities and across all parts of Kurdistan, but also resonated throughout the wider region and the world. The powerful atmosphere created by the slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” continues to inspire excitement, courage and pride.
In Rojhilat, the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” serhildans generated a profound shift and placed the women’s revolution firmly on the agenda. Their effects, especially in Eastern Kurdistan, have been far-reaching. More importantly, the slogan has become a universal language of freedom embraced by women across the world. This is of great significance. To strengthen and institutionalise this, women must continue expanding their struggle.
Countless conferences and women’s gatherings have taken place around the world and across other parts of Kurdistan. As KJAR, we held two major conferences and numerous activities between 2024 and 2025. Now the task is to organise and embed this movement into daily life; everyone has a responsibility in this.
Today, the courage of thousands of women who rose up during the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” serhildan, as well as the stance of university students, continues. Over the past three years, despite poisonings targeting young women, executions and widespread arrests, no one has stepped back.
The vibrant actions of young women and of different segments of society remain alive. This is the search for democracy, freedom and justice. Iranian society is profoundly dynamic. The level of consciousness and awareness among women in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan cannot be broken.
On the occasion of 25 November, I must say this: Iran must end its practices of societal violence. It cannot discipline society through special warfare methods. Abdullah Öcalan’s ideas are receiving great attention from women across the world, including Iranian and Rojhilat women. Women in Eastern Kurdistan draw their strength and belief in freedom from Öcalan. Women in Rojhilat are the foundation of free life for society as a whole. For these ideas to deepen inside Iran, to be understood and lived, we insist on expanding the freedom struggle of “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî.”
If women in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan are not stepping back, it is because they draw their power from the paradigm developed by Abdullah Öcalan. Their commitment to him is profound and unmistakable. For humanity, and particularly for women in Iran and Rojhilat, Abdullah Öcalan is the greatest source of hope. This is why they see his freedom as inseparable from their own.
There were Iranian women who declared: “I oppose oppression. My body, my hair belongs to me.” Young women defending the sanctity of their own bodies were subjected to severe violence and rape. Over the past three years, they have played leading roles in the uprisings. This is the courage of an awakened woman. Particularly in these last three years, women have opened a new page in Iranian history with their actions against the male-dominated system. Some young women were even placed in psychiatric hospitals for standing up to this patriarchal state.
Iranian and Rojhilat women have made this clear: “You cannot imprison my will by forcing the hijab upon me.”
The developments in Iran and Rojhilat today deeply influence all of Kurdistan, the Middle East and the world. The period that began with Shiler Resuli and Jina Amini has contributed to expanding social struggle and women’s organising through the resistance of Iranian and Rojhilat peoples. This has become a driving force for building a democratic Iran, and it is the peoples who have made this choice.
Women in Iran and Rojhilat have shown through their struggle that they demand democracy and democratic governance. No hegemonic power has been able to extinguish their thirst for freedom and justice. The “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” revolution, led by women, young people and the peoples, has revealed its political and social impact even more clearly today, and it will usher in further revolutionary developments.
Women who were raped were killed by their own families. The scale of violence in Iran has risen dramatically. A woman who is raped faces murder at home and increasing danger to her life. This reality has been produced by the mullah regime. Yet the cry of “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” has deepened women’s hope for freedom, justice and peace, an idea developed by Abdullah Öcalan.
We must hold these patriarchal structures accountable through a jineological perspective. Today, the resistance led by Iranian and Rojhilat women, supported by the peoples of Iran, has grown into a force capable of advancing social freedom. Women, through their rhythm and style of struggle, have opened a new path.
Neither the Iranian colonial state nor other dominant powers can ignore the profound demand for freedom in this society. This demand is deep-rooted and remains strong. Women active in the democratic nation struggle have not slowed down; they have never left the streets. They continue to pay the price to achieve freedom. They do not fear execution; they have kept the revolution’s spaces and streets alive. Iranian and Rojhilat women have now become a major source of inspiration; they give their lives for social freedom.
Even if repression intensifies, even if executions continue, they cannot be forced to abandon their demand for freedom. All hegemonic powers must see this. Women today are hopeful and courageous enough to make freedom a lived reality. The year 2025 has been decisive for all who fight for freedom and democracy, and the peoples and women of Iran have experienced this as well. Their resilience has given meaning to 2025. Those who struggled for freedom and democracy in 2025 have prevailed.
During the twelve-day Iran–Israel war, Iran suffered heavy blows. Women faced displacement; many were harmed in various ways. Children were also deeply affected. Iran’s fundamental problem is democratisation. In a society as diverse as Iran, democracy will be like medicine. Women have never abandoned this demand.
What message would you like to convey to women on the occasion of 25 November?
We mark this 25 November in the spirit in which Abdullah Öcalan gifted the struggle for peace and a democratic society to peoples and to women. The stance of the Mirabal sisters against the mentality of the rapist male order stands as a symbol of democratic societal resistance. For the struggle they waged and the dignity they carried, they are remembered across the world as a symbol of defiance.
It is Abdullah Öcalan who enlightened us on the meaning of 25 November, who taught us what this day represents, and who showed us how to confront the reality of male domination through democratic struggle. I commemorate all the resisting women who were martyred in the women’s freedom struggle. We have a promise to their utopia of freedom. By building a world without violence, we will construct a democratic society. We will strengthen the women’s struggle.
As we welcome another 25 November, we see that women-led uprisings in Kurdistan, the Middle East, the world and Iran have never ceased. The freedom line of Jin, Jiyan, Azadî, its resistance, courage and powerful atmosphere, has made the vision of an Iran free from feminicide and a global women’s liberation struggle a central approach across the world.
Women will elevate this struggle even further on 25 November. This year, more than ever, society is being organised along the line of self-defence. Under the influence of Jin, Jiyan, Azadî, women continue to organise like an ocean turning into millions of waves.
Women in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan continue to lead this historic wave. They will express the stance of 25 November through their actions and their instinctive responses.
We will hold hegemonic masculinity to account. The only path to confronting rape culture is women’s collective organisation and liberation.