YJA Star guerrillas Delîla Argeş and Nûjiyan Çiya of the Free Women’s Troops (YJA Star) spoke to ANF about the significance of International Working Women’s Day on 8 March. The YJA Star guerrillas said that women who are struggling everywhere should welcome 8 March with a spirit of unity and turn every day into 8 March.
YJA Star guerrillas share their reflections on 8 March
The reflections of YJA Star guerrillas on International Working Women’s Day on 8 March are as follows:
YJA Star guerrilla Delîla Argeş: “I congratulate the March 8 of all women around the world, especially Mr. Öcalan, and everyone who takes part in the struggle and resists.
Mr. Öcalan has defined it by saying, ‘Not one day, but every day is women’s day.’ In order to live this day and all days meaningfully, it is necessary to live every day with Mr. Öcalan’s ideas and philosophy. As YJA Star guerrillas, with our organization, our will, our feelings and our thoughts, we live, fight and resist at every moment of our struggle. In order to live a meaningful life, we must deepen our understanding of Mr. Öcalan’s ideas and thoughts. When we look at women around the world today, we see that 8 March is welcomed with greater enthusiasm and excitement every year.
From the mountains to the cities, women who take part in the struggle for freedom must further deepen the meaning of 8 March, return to its essence and live freely at every moment. Celebrating March 8 in the mountains is important for us. There are certain moments in the women’s struggle that must be remembered. In particular, in our struggle for freedom, the stance of comrade Sara (Sakine Cansız) holds great value for us. Comrade Sara was always with the leadership through her feelings and thoughts. She lived, fought and struggled for 8 March at every moment. She wanted to live meaningfully and secure her existence. When we look again at 8 March, we also see women burned in factories and women especially targeted and killed in uprisings. For our comrades who fell as martyrs in March, we must make March 8 even greater and more meaningful.
When we look at the women’s struggle, the legacy of resistance figures such as Rosa Luxemburg continues today. This is even more evident in the person of comrade Sema Yüce. Comrade Sema rose up in prison, resisted and struggled; her words ‘There cannot be two suns in the sky’ are a historic moment for us. In the mountains, comrade Bêrîtan throwing herself from the cliff while raising slogans and her voice is great value for us. In the cities, comrade Arîn Mîrkan and comrade Denîz are examples of this. Through her stance, comrade Denîz struck fear into the heart of the enemy. During the attacks of mercenaries, the hair of our women comrades was cut. One strand of hair was cut, but thousands of women braided their hair. This rising voice is also a part of history. It reveals the resistance that exists. For this reason, we must organize ourselves strongly so that we can live freely.”
YJA Star guerrilla Nûjiyan Çiya: “Attacks against women are being carried out especially in Rojava against the paradigm of Mr. Öcalan. The main work emphasized by Mr. Öcalan is the struggle for women’s freedom. International Working Women’s Day on 8 March is the day of women’s struggle against male domination and gender inequality. Mr. Öcalan also says that ‘women are the unpaid laborers of the home.’ Because women had no rights, no right to speak. For this reason, women were subjected to greater oppression by men.
When ruling powers see that women are becoming stronger, uniting and claiming their rights, they target them. In the person of Comrade Sara, we clearly saw the meaning of women’s freedom. Comrade Sara has an important role in the organization of women. Mr. Öcalan determined the five criteria of women’s freedom in the persons of Comrade Bêrîtan and Zîlan.
As women, the more we deepen and strengthen ourselves through the criteria of patriotism, organization, ethics and aesthetics, struggle, and free thought and will, the stronger we can establish our unity. March 8 should not be treated as only one day; all our days should be seen as 8 March. Life continues through women; we must raise our struggle every day. We must become stronger, become the creators of these days and the days to come, and strengthen the struggle of Mr. Öcalan.
We commemorate our comrades who struggled on the line of freedom, who labored and who reached martyrdom for this cause; we salute all socialist women martyrs. We also celebrate March 8 of our comrades who continue their struggle in every field, especially Mr. Öcalan.”
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