The Platform of Action for Women’s Movements and Organizations in Rojava / North and East Syria released a statement on the occasion of 8 March, International Women’s Day.
Entitled “There is no alternative to constitutional recognition to protect the women’s revolution and guarantee a democratic Syria,” the statement reads as follows:
“Above all, we bow our heads in reverence to the great sacrifices made with the blood of pioneering women and martyrs who built bridges with their bodies and paved the way for us with their will, so that we could emerge from the darkness of exclusion into the light of the future.
We, the women’s movements and organizations in Rojava, Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Assyrians, Armenians, etc., affirm that every achievement we defend today is a pledge of allegiance to our heritage, which we will not lose or allow to be destroyed.
Our hearts ache with pain, and our souls burn with anger, as we witness the atrocities committed by elements affiliated with factions linked to the Interim Government; brutal practices that have transgressed all human values, from throwing our comrade Deniz from the third floor in a barbaric act, to the cold-blooded crime of cutting off a female fighter’s braid. These violations are a blatant expression of a Salafist, patriarchal mentality steeped in hatred, aimed at breaking the will of the women who have fought and won against terrorism. It is a pathetic attempt to terrorize society by targeting its symbols of struggle and beauty.
What the women’s revolution has achieved in North and East Syria, and throughout Syria, was not a mere concession, but a withdrawal from the fangs of exclusionary ideology.
Therefore, we approach March 8, the International Women’s Day, with a spirit of resistance, not defeat. We announce from the heart of the struggle the launch of a major national and international campaign to intensify the struggle in all areas. We are not begging for our rights; rather, we are placing the international community and democratic forces before their historical responsibilities, and we present our demands as non-negotiable and non-postponable. These demands are as follows:
• The explicit and unequivocal inclusion of the gains of the women’s revolution achieved in North and East Syria, and in Syria in general, in the new constitution, and to guarantee women’s protection from the patriarchal, exclusionary, and Salafist mentality that has historically sought to marginalize women from decision-making positions.
• The full implementation of what was agreed upon on January 30, ensuring the completion of integration processes and guaranteeing women’s effective and independent participation in all military, political, and administrative institutions.
• Constitutional recognition of the “co-chair” system and the adoption of a women’s quota of no less than 50% in all branches of the state and constitutional drafting committees as a guarantee of complete equality.
• Including a clear constitutional clause adopting Decree No. 13 concerning the protection of the linguistic and cultural rights of the Kurds, while guaranteeing the protection of the rights of all Syrian communities and their cultural diversity.
• Forming genuine participatory committees with broad female representation to redraft a new democratic constitution that protects the rights of women and all communities and establishes a decentralized democratic system.
• Preserving the unique character and structure of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and constitutionally recognizing them as an essential and integral part of the defense and protection system, acknowledging their historical role in defeating terrorism and protecting human values.
• Absolute commitment to the Women’s Law and the achieved legal and civil rights gains, and categorically rejecting any legislation that perpetuates subjugation or seeks to diminish women’s social and political role.
• Uncovering the fate of the missing and forcibly disappeared, holding all perpetrators of crimes and brutal violations against women accountable immediately, and implementing the principles of transitional justice to ensure redress for victims and prevent impunity.
• Guaranteeing the safe and voluntary return of all internally displaced persons to their homes by providing international guarantees that protect them from reprisals and ensure their livelihoods.
• Calling on the international community to recognize the model of self-administration and the vanguardship of women within it as a national model for a comprehensive Syrian solution, guaranteeing a transition towards a democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria.
We address this call to struggle to all feminist movements and democratic forces worldwide: Our struggle today is the last line of defense for universal values of freedom against Salafist and patriarchal ideology. Targeting Syrian women is a stab in the heart of universal democracy. Therefore, we call upon you to strengthen women’s alliances and put international pressure to ensure that Syria’s future constitution is not with the exclusion and the marginalization of half of society.
The years have taught us that our organization is our fortress. Neither killing will intimidate us, nor will violations break our will. Those who made the revolution and preserved dignity with their blood are the only ones capable of protecting it and imposing the logic of a “democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria.”
A pledge to the martyrs and the severed braids: we will remain an invincible force against tyranny, and we will not stop until we see our gains ensured in the constitution. Long live the women’s revolution!
Long live the women’s revolution! Glory and eternity to the martyrs! Woman, life, freedom (Jin, Jiyan, Azadî)!”
Signed by
Kongra Star
Syriac Women’s Union in Syria
Women’s Security Union
Sara – Organization against violence against women
Women’s arts and cultural movement – Hîlala Zerîn
Ezidi Women’s Union in Rojava
Democratic Freedom Party
Kurdistan Democratic Peace Party
Democratic Green Party
Kurdish Lawyers Union
Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria
Syrian Construction and Development Party
Sawushka Women’s Association
Free Women’s Foundation in Syria
Women’s Council of the Democratic Society Movement
Women’s Authority
Kurdistan Democratic Party – Syria
Kurdistan Democratic Message Party
Kurdistan Democratic Change Party
Kurdistan Future Movement
Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (el-Party)
Justice Council
Ambassadors Association for the Persons with Disabilities
Roz Organization for Support and Empowerment
Peace Leaders Organization
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