On the occasion of International Women’s Day on March 8, the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan addressed a detailed message to the Kurdish women’s movement. In the statement, published by the Coordination of the Kurdistan Free Women’s Party (Partiya Azadiya Jinên Kurdistanê, PAJK), he emphasized the historical role of women as the founding subject of society and called for stronger political organization within the women’s movement.
The letter from Öcalan reads as follows:
“Everyone has a subjective view of women, a passion, or a curse. Or blindness. If we are to speak of something divine in this world, it seems to me more accurate, even necessary, that it be of female origin. What astonishes me is that man has recklessly used his entire monopoly of knowledge and power to enslave women. The fact that he has consumed women spiritually and physically to such an extent without recognizing any ethical or political rule imposes on me the necessity of understanding it as the most fundamental philosophical issue. There is a greater need than assumed for philosophy, for scientific philosophy, and even for deepening the study of religion and mythology in order to shed light on this issue. And with this, it becomes necessary to reveal true human ethics and aesthetics, the construction of the political sphere, and therefore the institutionalization of democratic society, making it the fundamental subject of sociology and thus of Jineology.
I would like to respond to Karl Marx’s well-known remark, “Nothing human is alien to me,” with the words: “The human being as woman interests me even more.” The fact that so-called scientific real socialism looked at women with such blindness was not only one of the most important reasons for its collapse, but also proof of how deeply the constructed enslaving-man had taken root. As we searched for ways to overcome real socialism, a fundamental criterion became decisive for me: being socialist can only arise from establishing a genuine relationship of freedom with women. Moreover, becoming truly human and breaking away from the mere naturalness of the animal kingdom is only possible on the basis of a relationship with women that is grounded in equality, freedom, and ethical and aesthetic principles.
Caste-based social murder system
In my last manifesto I wanted to express that at the origin of what I call the caste-based social murder system lies the destruction of the soul of women, while capitalist modernity has reduced their bodies to a condition worse than that of a corpse. You know very well that women often say: “You have taken away my soul and my body.” This expression carries a deep historical meaning and has long been part of a collective expression of experience.
Another central conclusion of my manifesto concerns the necessity of redefining sociology. In my view, sociology cannot be established as a science of society in the narrow sense. This is because society, as a second nature, possesses a dimension of meaning arising from its infinite relationality that cannot be grasped as an object of scientific investigation. Certain aspects can indeed be examined scientifically, such as the economic base emphasized by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, the social structure in the sense described by Max Weber, or the identity and normative structures analyzed by Émile Durkheim. However, the comprehensive “world of meaning” of social nature cannot be fully captured in this way.
Even if one approaches it analytically, the result can rather be understood as an ethical-aesthetic practice — as an art of political and social coexistence. By this I certainly do not mean the supposed “art” produced by capitalist modernity within its culture industry, which in reality resembles more of a cultural slaughterhouse.
From the maternal social system to patriarchy
Instead of the Marxist thesis that “history is a history of class struggles,” I arrived at another definition: all history, including the period before writing, can be understood as a tension between commune and state that emerged from the division of the original clan structures.
The phenomenon of communalization, whose thorough examination and explanation would require extensive analysis, essentially developed as a maternal form of society. Archaeological findings indicate that—favored primarily by geographical factors as well as suitable flora and fauna—it developed along the Zagros–Taurus axis and dates back roughly 50,000 to 30,000 years. The discoveries from that period, which include numerous female figurines but no male statues, also point to this reality.
Up until the Neolithic era, this maternal society accumulated significant cultural and social development, particularly in the fields of language as well as plant and animal cultures. Up to the threshold of sedentary society, the dominant cultural order remained clearly women-centered. An indication of this can be found, for example, in the feminine root element of many languages as well as in the Ma culture. In a later phase, however, the male “band,” which had gained increasing experience and power in killing animals, gained access to this social wealth. From hunting animals, it eventually turned against the world of women itself. First, it killed those male relatives—especially uncles and adolescent men—who were under the protection of women, and appropriated their social resources. Afterwards, it subjugated and enslaved the women. At its core, this meant the destruction of the female soul.
In this way the “male god” emerged. The original religion of the natural goddess gave way to a celestial religion of the male god. The subsequent developments can easily be traced in Sumerian mythology and in the later history of the monotheistic religions. The mythological conflict between Enki and Inanna, as well as the narratives in the Epic of Gilgamesh, reflect this transformation. From that time until the present, literature, politics, and sociology have essentially expressed this masculinized, hegemonic form of man.
The “women’s project” and its practical implementation
What astonishes me is the fact that throughout the entire history of civilization we have maintained, and even insisted upon, such a blinded structure of consciousness and feeling in the face of a truth that should actually have been relatively easy to recognize and understand. It is therefore the responsibility of social analysis—particularly of jineology and sociology, but also of a new socialism (a socialism after real socialism) as well as of art—to make this reality visible, to conceptualize it theoretically, and to carry it into processes of renewed social transformation.
Dear comrades, when I said that my “women’s project” could essentially be considered completed, I meant precisely this conceptual elaboration. Yet before me now stands an enormous practical task: the implementation and realization of this perspective within social life.
The growing interest and the numerous questions from women comrades and friends clearly push me toward new searches and reflections. At the same time, it is clear that my place and my current conditions are not sufficient, in terms of communication, to respond adequately to all these questions.
Historically, the founding subject of society is women
The process we are currently experiencing is one in which women can take on an even more active role. The reconstruction of the social order will be shaped under the leadership of women. Historically as well, women are the founding subject of society.
Socialization forms around women and through their actions. This is a sociological reality. Women possess a potential—both in terms of their consciousness of freedom and their level of organization—that enables them to assume a leading role in the process of social reconstruction. Therefore, efforts aimed at deepening, mobilizing, and activating this potential in practice, transforming it from mere capacity into real effectiveness, should become the central concern of women’s organizations. The current process offers favorable conditions for women to liberate themselves while also contributing to the liberation of society.
Political organization and the ethics of relationships
The fundamental force of this process is women. Therefore, it is necessary for women to further politicize their own existence and to understand themselves as autonomous political subjects. Instead of purely emotional approaches, a form of becoming-woman in which the political dimension increasingly comes to the forefront is gaining importance. Without political reality, it is not even possible to breathe. This is of great importance, and I firmly believe that you will rise to this task.
Our ideological line of women’s liberation is well known. Women have already reached a considerable level in terms of freedom and organization. However, what is now required is a qualitative leap: from the ideology of women’s liberation to a political practice of women’s liberation. In fact, such a development can already be observed in many places. I am convinced that strong political leaders will emerge from among you.
You know that I have never abandoned you. I am convinced that precisely in this lies the most realistic expression of what I call platonic love in a social sense.
A socialist person’s understanding of love and their attitude toward relations between women and men reveal their personality. It must be clearly understood that the feeling marketed as “love” by the caste-based social murder system is organized in such a way that it ensures the continuation of the enslavement of women.
The idealization of what cannot be realized
The concept of “platonic love” that I use should also not be misunderstood. Platonic love means the idealization of what cannot be realized in practice. The idealism of platonic love is more valuable than the realism of practical love. You can direct your attention toward this. You should not orient your mind and heart toward the realization of practical love. We should choose platonic love, because the realization of practical love is full of pitfalls.
Finally, I would like to emphasize that I regard your developments as significant and understand them as an “epoch of women’s heroism.” I congratulate you on this. Your heroic way of life is deeply ethical and aesthetic; it represents the strongest response of our time to the caste-based social murder system. The central question concerns how a new human life can be shaped. Without reaching the true secrets of life through women, it will not be possible to understand the language of the universe.
To all of you—especially to you, but also to all friends who raise questions—I hope that the coming year and the years ahead will be rich in meaning and lead you to set sail toward love and affection. With respectful greetings.”
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