One of France’s leading newspapers, Libération, published a feminist appeal drawing attention to attacks against Kurdish women in North and East Syria (Rojava). Numerous figures, including writers, artists, academics, and representatives of women’s organizations, called on the international community to urgently take responsibility in the face of massacres against Kurdish women.
Published under the title “Let us not sacrifice this people, these women, this hope,” the appeal stressed that the libertarian and democratic model of life built under the leadership of women in Rojava is being targeted by attacks from jihadist groups. The text stated that murders, abductions, torture, and sexual violence against women have become systematic.
“The women’s revolution is under attack”
The women signatories stated that the attacks in Rojava are not ordinary military clashes, but an ideological war directly aimed at women’s freedom, equality, and women’s social gains. The statement emphasized that the Rojava model, where women participate in politics through a co-chair system, establish self-defense forces, and take on leading roles in all areas of life, is being targeted for destruction by a patriarchal and jihadist mentality.
In their appeal, the women drew attention to the fact that the silence of the international community paves the way for these attacks to continue, and they openly called on states, international institutions, and human rights organizations to take responsibility.
Silence is complicity
In the Libération op-ed, it was underlined that remaining silent in the face of this policy of violence carried out through women’s bodies is unacceptable, delivering the following message:
“In Rojava, women have built hope not only for themselves but for the entire world. Turning a blind eye to the destruction of this hope means becoming complicit in the crime.”
Among the first signatories of the appeal published in Libération were the following names:
Pınar Selek – Sociologist
Ariane Ascaride – Actress, writer
Hanna Assouline – President of Guerrières de la Paix (Women Warriors for Peace)
Michèle Bernard – Writer, composer, singer
Sarah Durocher – President of Family Planning France (Planning Familial)
Leana Enel – President of the World March of Women
Annie Ernaux – Nobel Prize–winning author
Sepideh Farsi – Filmmaker
Lio – Singer, actress
Carole Mesrobian – President of PEN Club France
Elisabeth Nicoli – President of the Alliance for Democracy for Women
Sabine Salmon – President of Femmes Solidaires
Michèle Vitrac-Pouzoulet – President of the Elected Officials Network Against Violence Against Women (ECVF)
The full list of signatories is publicly available, and the appeal has been supported by many feminists, academics, and artists.
Call for international solidarity
French feminists and intellectuals underlined that the resistance in Rojava is not a local struggle but a universal women’s struggle, and called on women around the world, democratic institutions, and the free press to strengthen solidarity.