Shengal is the most concrete example of the heavy damages caused by wars, which are the creation of the male mind, on women's bodies. During the massacre carried out by ISIS 10 years ago, women who were taken as booty were forced to convert, those who refused were massacred, raped and sold in slave markets. However, after the liberation of Shengal, the women, who were each other's homes, organised and became stronger, and destroyed the images of "in need of rescue", "victim" and "powerless".

 

The freedom route of Yazidi women, who experienced a new birth with their own strength, showed the way to the whole world. Women, who set out by saying "Never again", responded to the darkness of the male mind by building self-defence units, institutions, autonomous assemblies and local administrations. Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) and Êzîdî Women's Unions (YJŞ) were established. The Shengal Democratic Autonomous Assembly (MXDŞ) became a power in areas such as defence, security, culture and diplomacy. Women, who developed the strongest defence against the ongoing threats against their lands, are now leading the society in every field.

 

One of these women is Ferîde Şengalî, who survived the ISIS attack in 2014 but had to migrate to Turkey. After the liberation of Sinjar, Ferîde Şengalî returned to her land and is now a member of TAJÊ Diplomacy Committee. Ferîde Şengalî spoke to our agency on the occasion of 25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

 

BEFORE AND AFTER THE EDICT

 

Stating that they are struggling for the freedom of Yazidi women who were abducted by ISIS and are currently forced to live in KDP camps, Ferîde Şengalî said: "Women were under male-state oppression and authority before the ISIS attacks, which they call the '73rd edict'. Before the decree, women were not even allowed to leave the house in Shengal. They used to say 'a woman who stays at home is an honourable woman'. There was such an approach to women. The existence of women was under male-state blockade. Before the decree, not a single Yazidi woman was allowed to take part in politics or the military. During the Saddam Hussein era, 2 Yazidi women took part in politics. But these women were excluded and marginalised by everyone. They said, 'How can a woman be involved in politics, women should stay away from politics and stay at home'. This was how they defined women. Because of this mentality, there were many attacks on our existence. We had many enemies around us. A Yazidi woman could not go from here to Mosul. They were imprisoned between four walls. This was an artefact of the dominant male mentality imposed on us."

 

Ferîde Şengalî reminded that after the edict, women organised themselves and took part in all social areas and took the lead, and said: "During the edict, 7 thousand Yazidi women and children were taken captive by ISIS. Afterwards, women began to search and question. We focused on why we were constantly targeted and came to a conclusion. The edict caused us deep pain, but after the PKK came here, we, as Yazidi women, woke up from sleep and started to organise. We rejected the imposed slave life. Women who could not go out of their homes before the edict are the pioneers of this society today. That is why the 73rd edict changed the lives of Yazidi women as a whole. Our lives changed after we got to know the ideas of Mr Abdullah Öcalan and the women guerrillas who came to our aid. We learnt from them how we should resist and why we should live. This is a very sacred thing for us. The idea of distancing us from Yazidiness did not succeed. We were inspired by the resistance of the women of Bakur and Rojava. We took their struggle as a basis for ourselves and chose to struggle."

 

SPECIAL WAR POLICY IN KDP CAMPS

 

Drawing attention to the situation of Yazidi women held in KDP camps, Ferîde Şengalî said that special war policies are carried out on these women. "The biggest pain experienced in KDP camps is the removal of Yazidi women from Yazidism. There is evidence and proof of this. Êzdatî is a morality and a philosophy. A person who deviates from his morality has neither a philosophy nor a thought. Many Yazidis are still in the hands of ISIS. This edict brought a lot of pain with it, but it also brought freedom. Today, women are frustrating the special war policies being waged on Shengal. YJŞ protects women 24 hours a day. Today, wherever in Shengal a woman is subjected to injustice or violence, she directly contacts us."

 

DEMOCRATIC NATION BUILDING

 

Ferîde Şengalî noted that women of all races and beliefs in Shengal are building the democratic nation together and said: "There is a common struggle. We can say that we have built a democratic nation after getting to know the ideas and philosophy of Mr Abdullah Öcalan. Before this system, only men of different faiths used to come together, while women used to live in ignorance of each other. The idea of the democratic nation brought together women of different races and beliefs who did not know each other. Women organised themselves on the idea of democratic nation. Most importantly, we are fighting together for women's freedom."

 

GOAL IS TO RESCUE WOMEN IN THE HANDS OF ISIS

 

Referring to the communes and assemblies established by TAJÊ, Ferîde Şengalî said that one of their aims is to rescue the women who were held in KPD camps and are still captive in the hands of ISIS. Ferîde Şengalî continued as follows: "As TAJÊ, we have established women's assemblies in every village, and we will expand our work more in the coming days. There is a lot of violence against women living in KDP camps. There are women dying in the camps. Together we will save women from this violence. As TAJÊ, we have two important works ahead of us; one of them is the rescue of women in KDP camps, and the second is to rescue the women in the hands of ISIS and ensure their return to Shengal. All the women who were rescued before were rescued thanks to the YPG, YJŞ and QSD. As Yazidi women, we cannot protect ourselves if we do not fight together. The most important thing for us is to protect our lands against attacks. We will continue our struggle within the framework of Mr Öcalan's 'women's liberationist' paradigm and we will expand the experience we have gained in the women's liberation struggle."

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut