On the occasion of March 8 International Women's Day, women from all over the world are coming together in the fields and raising the struggle against the male-dominated system. As Mezopotamya Agency (MA), we reached women from 8 countries and asked them about their messages for March 8. 

 

ENGLAND

 

Margaret Owen, a human rights defence lawyer in the UK, has been working in the field of women's rights for many years. Margaret Owen stated that oppressive regimes and conflicts are increasing all over the world,  and said, “Unsolved conflicts are causing disproportionate harm to women and their children. Gaza is a tragic example. 70% of all the civilian deaths there, or of women and children. Women's exclusion from decision making facilitates member states breaking international law with impunity" 

 

Margaret Owen added: "We should all be together as one human race to save the planet. Women suffer disproportionately from the impact of climate change, as they do from armed conflicts. But on this International Women's Day, we women must be optimists, not pessimists. We are many and we are all together, whatever our religion, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, marital status or locality. And in every country, there are serious men who understand that the oppression of women oppresses men too and all of society. In this context, women everywhere and those men who support us should campaign for and draw attention to that unique model for society developed over the years by the unlawfully imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, that of democratic confederalism, in which gender equality and women's empowerment is central. My message therefore, to you all is let us never lose hope. Let us be ever bolder in our struggle to bring peace, justice and freedom through the solidarity and agencies of women, wherever they are. Let's be sure that our voices are heard at the meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women coming very soon. Women, life, liberty. Jin, jiyan, azadî. We will overcome."

 

 

ROJAVA

 

Rûken Ehmed, member of the Democratic Solidarity and Communication Committee of Kongra Star, the umbrella organisation of women in North and East Syria, stated that they continue their work with the slogan "Towards a democratic Syria with the philosophy of Jin, jiyan, azadi". Reminding that they have been resisting in North and East Syria for 14 years, Rûken Ehmed emphasised that the gains here have been an inspiration for women all over the world and said, "Now we greet you all with the spirit of resistance at Qereqozak bridge and Tishreen Dam. We continue our struggle and march towards 8 March with this spirit. A truly unique resistance is being shown. We give martyrs every day. Although it is said that the chaos and war in Syria has been stopped, we are exposed to all kinds of attacks in Northern and Eastern Syria. We continue our struggle for a new era, a new revolution and democratic Syria."

 

Rûken Ehmed added, "We do not see the gains in North and East Syria, which are defined as the women's revolution, as a solution not only for Syria. We see it as the solution for the whole Middle East. Jin, jiyan, azadi".

 

PALESTINE

 

Amal Wahdan, Coordinator of the One Democratic State of Palestine and Editor-in-Chief of Arab Gazette, said that the Palestinian people are being subjected to ethnic cleansing due to the conflicts. Amal Wahdan said, "Palestine, my homeland, continues to endure Zionist colonial occupation and ethnic cleansing, carried out with the backing of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, with NATO serving as their military enforcer. The fifteen months of relentless genocidal war against the people of Gaza have deliberately targeted the most vulnerable—women and children. The death toll has reached 103,000, with an additional 15,000 people buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.

 

Amal Wahdan stated that the developments especially in the Middle East show that we are on the brink of the 3rd World War and underlined that the duty of women's organisations is to protect both their own lives and the lives of future generations against wars and imperial powers. Finally, Amal Wahdan made the following call to the women of the world: "This is a sincere and urgent call from Palestinian women to international women’s movements and unions to unite against the relentless mass killing of women and children, the systematic destruction of sovereign nations, and the imposition of regime change. Together, we must strive for a world free from war—a world built on peace, security, equality, justice, and prosperity for all. Women of the World rise -up. Women of the World unite

 

SWITZERLAND

 

Franziska Stier, Secretary General of BastA (Basels Starke Alternative/Basel's Strong Alternative), stated that they discussed two important issues this year, and said, “At the one hand, the right wing extremist and fascist parties are getting stronger and stronger around us. Their racist, authoritarian and misogyny worldview threatens all of us internationally, autocrats and fascists are starting to divide up the world between each other. This is the main threat for our bodies. We know women, and our feminist struggle is the most important bastion against fascism. And the other hand, we have lost nine female friends in the first nine weeks of this year. In Switzerland, a woman is murdered by her partner or ex partner about every second week. We are currently learning a femicide every week. We know what's needed to stop the murders. We know that implementing the Istanbul Convention could save our lives. Two weeks ago, we demanded 350 million francs for our protection, for prevention and for our safety. Only two media talk about it. At the other hand, the Canton Basel will pay 500 million Swiss francs taxes directly back to the big concerns. They have money to make presents to the concerns they have money to build arms up. But for our safety, for our social safety, for women's work or for International Development, they don't have money. So you can see neoliberalism here, to shows its authoritarian face when we come together and when we demand."

 

Franziska Stier added, "But that doesn't stop us, just as it doesn't stop you. with this in our mind, we wish all of us a strong March 8. Jin Jiyan Azadî."

 

 

ITALY

 

Francesca Baruffaldi, a trade unionist at CGIL Lombardia in Italy, who applied to the Ministry of Justice to come to Turkey to meet with Kurdish People's Leader PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, demanded peace, environment, gender equality and recognition of all civil rights. "Self-determination is our duty" said Francesca Baruffaldi and added, "Today, starting from the experience of women in Rojava, we continue to claim our role in society. We don't give up." 

 

Francesca Baruffaldi said that women like her who play a role in trade unions and political organisations should be role models for girls and stressed:  “Even if the world has gone mad because fascism is growing strongly, we are not afraid and we stand by all our sisters who are fighting their battle. I conclude with the words of Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur for Palestine; 'Empaty is the glue that makes us stand united as humanity'. Free Öcalan."

 

FRANCE

 

L'Après Party Paris 20th District Deputy Danielle Simonnet stated that the first thing the rising right-wing movements in the world do when they come to power is to attack women's rights and reminded the practices of the US President Donald Trump administration. Danielle Simonnet stated the following: “I hope that the 8 of March will be a massive strike around the world, i hope women will mobilize against sexual and domestic violence, i hope women will mobilize for reproductive rights and gratuity of access to women’s health care and early childhood public service. I’m convinced that to fight against fascism we have to put women right at the center of our political project. Women are the best way to defend our unity against the far right movement. The 8 of march lets have one tagline : Women life Liberty, jin jiyan Azadi"

 

TURKEY

 

Speaking on behalf of Tevgera Jinên Azad (Free Women's Movement-TJA), Sultan Yaray stated that Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society" on 27 February was very important for Kurdish women and that they took to the streets this 8 March in response to Öcalan's call. Sultan Yaray said, "We know how much importance Mr Öcalan attaches to women's freedom, struggle and resistance. For this reason, we need to raise our voices with one heart and support this process on 8 March."

 

Stating that the philosophy of "jin, jiyan, azadî" and the resistance of Kurdish women is an example for the women of the world, Sultan Yaray emphasised that women in countries such as India, Afghanistan and America resist the oppression they are subjected to with the slogan "jin, jiyan, azadî". Sultan Yaray called on all women to take to the streets on 8 March and stated that they would also take to the streets for peace and call on the government to ensure peace. Stating that Abdullah Öcalan's physical freedom must be ensured, Sultan Yaray added, "As women, we want to meet Abdullah Öcalan and listen to his ideas. We women know that if we are in the fields today, if we take part in organisations with the co-presidency system, we know that this is because of the philosophy he put before us, through freedom. This philosophy brought us out from under the concrete. While capitalism enslaves women and confiscates their labour, we show that if women are free, society will be free with the 3rd way. In the 3rd way, an ecological, democratic, women's libertarian paradigm is mentioned, so we women are in debt. For this reason, we must fight for the physical freedom of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan with a spirit of mobilisation. 8 March is also a great opportunity to raise our voices."

 

IRAN

Sepideh Jodeyri, a feminist poet who was exiled from Iran and lives in the US, said that many of her poems are anti-colonial and feminist. Sepideh Jodeyri stated that Pexshan Ezîzî, Werîşe Muradi and Şerife Muhammadi, who were sentenced to death in Iran, should be freed and said, "My message on this occasion is my wish for freedom for three civil rights activists, Pexshan Ezîzî, Werîşe Muradi and Şerife Muhammadi, who were sentenced to death in Iran. These sentences must end and they must be free. I also wish for the freedom of Palestine and an end to the occupation and ethnic cleansing."

 

Sepideh Jodeyri shared the following poem she wrote:

 

"To Kurdistan and Kurdish women 

 

You find regions 

 

Whose poems are othered 

 

And whose sorrows are othered 

 

And whose eyes are othered  

 

You find regions 

 

with footfalls falling out of foot 

 

whose temperatures are othered; 

 

The stony temperature, stone-stripped 

 

The temperature of un-breaded bread 

 

The temperature of miles we bear on our being’s bare shoulders 

 

The temperature of poems we bear on our being’s bare shoulders

 

The temperature of deaths we bear on our being’s bare shoulders

 

A temperature so harassing… And you find regions

 

Meteoritic regions 

 

Back-barraged with bullets

 

That are othered 

 

And then anothered. (English translation by Ali Sabati)"

 

MA / Hîvda Çelebi