Today marks the 21st anniversary of the founding of Kongra Star, the umbrella organization of women in North-East Syria.
On this occasion, the organization released a statement, saying the following:
“We express our deepest respect and gratitude to leader Abdullah Öcalan and all the martyrs who fought for a dignified life and a free future. Their sacrifice lives on in us. We pay special tribute to the courageous women of North and East Syria who have fought for freedom alongside their comrades with unwavering resistance and dedication in recent years. We especially remember comrades Reyhan, Yusra, Hindused, Kamer, Jiyan, and martyr Deniz, whose sacrifices will never be forgotten. Their struggle lives on in our hearts. We bow in deep respect to all martyrs, especially those from Aleppo, whose courage and determination continue to inspire us.
Looking back on the last 21 years, we see remarkable resistance from determined women who have achieved tremendous success despite brutal attacks by states and jihadist forces. Surrounded by jihadist regimes, we as women have resisted under enormous pressure. In the early years, the pressure from the Baath regime was so great that women had to do their work in secret. Since 2005, many women have been detained, arrested, and murdered during this period. Today, we are building on the efforts made back then. The challenges of that time have brought us to where we are today, and just as we fought against nationalism back then, we are now fighting against jihadism and sexism.
Kongra Star strives to build a democratic society based on the ideas of leader Abdullah Öcalan. Kongra Star fights against gangs such as ISIS, al-Nusra, SNA, and today against the gangs called HTS, which are themselves ISIS and are supported by all international countries. For 14 years, Kongra Star has been resisting with incredible strength against a state like Turkey, which has reached the peak of its fascism under Erdoğan’s rule.
In response to psychological warfare and atrocities against children, we have formed child protection committees and organized campaigns and awareness-raising measures to combat physical and psychological attacks on women. Our goal is to unite all women in Syria to live in a democratic Syria, and we are committed to reaching women worldwide. Amid genocidal attacks, Kongra Star is continuously working on solutions.
Countless massacres have been and continue to be committed on our territory. This year in particular, when mercenaries from HTS, who are linked to ISIS ideology and supported by international powers and the Turkish state, came to power, attacks on the population—especially women—escalated dramatically. The massacres reached barbaric proportions: children were slaughtered before the eyes of the world, people were dismembered alive. These genocidal attacks, orchestrated by the imperialist states of capitalism, aim to wear down and divide people physically, psychologically, and spiritually. We must not look away, we must not remain silent. We will never forget the attacks on our people in Aleppo. Just as we did not remain silent in the past about the bloodbath in Suweida and the coastal areas, we at Kongra Star will not accept the massacre of our people in Aleppo in silence.
We will carry on the spirit of the martyrs of Aleppo. As Kongra Star, we are building on the foundation they left us and continuing their struggle, inspired by the philosophy of leader Abdullah Öcalan. Resistance to jihadist mentality and oppression will not stop us. We will continue to work with all our strength for a democratic, decentralized Syria and intensify our efforts to achieve women’s freedom and a just, democratic nation. We will make the 21st century the century of women’s freedom, and we will continue to strengthen our resistance.”