Commemorating 10 Years of the Women’s Revolution in Rojava

Qamishli, Syria—We have learned from history that a revolution without women is not possible. In the last ten years, women in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), or Rojava, have achieved much: an administrative system built by grassroots democracy, women’s liberation, and an ecologically-just society. Now, it is up to us women to defend and grow this revolution and its achievements.

Since the uprisings of 2011, the people of Rojava, a majority Kurdish (but multicultural) region in northern Syria, seized the moment and put their years of organizing into practice. On July 19, 2012, the revolution was declared, first in Kobane and then in other parts of northern Syria.

From the beginning, it was clear that we wanted a free society, which could not be achieved without the liberation of women, who have been oppressed by patriarchy for over 5,000 years. That is why we needed a revolution centered on the liberation of women.

In 2014, Kobane became known worldwide not only for the brutal siege by the Islamic State (IS) but also for the unparalleled resistance against the group: The fighting women of the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPJ) fearlessly opposed and defeated IS not only in Kobane but Tal Abyat, Sere Kaniye, Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, and Deir ez-Zor as well. These heroic women took up arms and defended their society — even giving their lives to it — and became symbols of the revolution.

One of these symbols was Arin Mirkan, a YPJ commander, who became a suicide bomber in an attack on the terrorist group — a turning point in the fight for Kobane when the battle seemed lost.

The gains go far beyond military victories against the Islamic State. Over the last decade, women have been involved in all aspects of life — socially, politically, legally, economically, and educationally — and played a pioneering role in building a free society. A society that has been self-governing since the Syrian regime largely withdrew from the region in 2012, and the AANES was established. An administration that, through the struggle of the women’s movement, represents a grassroots democratic, multicultural, multiethnic, and equal administrative system. There is a 50-percent gender quota in all areas of consultation in AANES and its institutions. And, according to the social contract of North and East Syria, all ethnic or social groups have the right to organize and represent their own interests.

Kurdish women have perhaps the most experience of autonomous organization in the region, inspired by the Kurdish Freedom Movement and the ideas of its leader Abdullah Ocalan. But during the revolution (and in mutual support and women’s solidarity), Assyrian, Arab, and Armenian women’s defense forces, councils, and organizations also were formed in the region. The various organizations, in their diversity, are united in fighting the patriarchy. We are a movement that brings together women from all walks of life, groups, and religions — a women’s movement that is rooted in society.

A grandmother taking up arms and patrolling to defend her own neighborhood; a mother taking up the microphone and expressing her political opinion in public; a daughter joining the ranks of the YPJ to fight the Islamic State; a female journalist holding a camera and speaking her truth — all are great successes for us.

Political and economic successes have been achieved, and women’s projects and cooperatives have been created. But the greatest challenge was — and remains — bringing about a revolution of thought: to change the mentality of a society shaped by nationalist and capitalist governments and thousands of years of patriarchal influence.

Five years ago, it was unusual for women to be behind the wheel of a car and was met with negative reactions, but today, when you walk through the streets of Qamishli, this image is normal. What has been built here is an ideological promise, an ongoing revolutionary project, a historic political event and a complex reality of lives for millions of people at the same time.

The most important thing for a revolution of thought is undoubtedly education. Therefore, a great value is given to the education system, for the teachers as well as the students. In this way, all teachers will be sensitized through special education in order not to reproduce sexism, racism, or any other kind of discrimination. The schoolbooks do not contain content that reproduces classic gender roles. Since the smallest unit of society is the family, it must also be democratized in order to democratize society as a whole, there are regular opportunities for family education in the councils and communes. Democracy is not only about a political system but also about people living together. It is about the relationships in a family, a group, or between two people.

This revolution has awakened hope, courage and solidarity worldwide. Hundreds of people from all over the world have come to Rojava to support, learn, defend, and join the revolution, which they also consider their struggle, like Ivana Hoffmann, a 19-year-old German Black communist woman who fell fighting IS in Tel Temir in 2015. “Rojava is the beginning. Rojava is hope,” she once said. As the first female foreign fighter to fall, she became not only a part of but also a symbol of this revolution. Another, Anna Campbell, a British feminist, anarchist, and activist, fought alongside the YPJ against Turkish assaults in 2018 and fell defending this revolution.

On July 19, 2022, people all over North and East Syria took to the streets in celebration of this special anniversary. However, this took place against the background daily attacks and threats by the Turkish state to invade the region and destroy the revolution.

We see this revolution as the inheritance of all previous struggles and revolutions in the world for a democratic and liberated society. We knew from the beginning that our struggle would not be an easy one, but one that is worthwhile regardless.

In recent years, there have been many struggles and resistances of women all over the world, from women who show solidarity, who raise their voices and no longer accept the oppression imposed on them. Therefore, it is a historic duty for every woman to support and participate in the global revolutions by and for women. Let us unite and make the achievements of the women’s revolution an achievement for all women in all parts of the world and develop society to make the 21st century the century of women’s freedom.

Ruken Ahmed is a member of the Diplomacy Committee of the Kongra Star Women’s Movement.