Some dates become engraved in the soul of a people, passed down like an oath, a legend, or a flame from generation to generation. June 30, 1996, is one such date for the Kurdish Freedom Movement. Known as the “Day of the Self-Sacrificing Militant,” it marks the anniversary of the moment when Zîlan (Zeynep Kınacı) opened a path to freedom with her own body in Dersim in 1996. Her self-sacrificing action became a manifesto of a people’s will to exist, their passion for freedom, and their unbreakable spirit.

A storm broke out in the square of Dersim on June 30, 1996. Zîlan showed the world how a woman’s courage could become earthshaking. With her self-sacrificing action targeting a unit of the Turkish army, she not only inflicted a severe blow to the enemy but also cried out the will and freedom of an entire people to the skies.

Zîlan’s action represented the purest form of devotion to the Apoist ideology, to the dream of a Free Kurdistan, and to the women’s liberation struggle. It went beyond a human being dedicating themselves to an ideal or sacrificing their life for freedom. Zîlan became a symbol of courage, sacrifice, and a will fixed on victory. The scream that exploded in the square of Dersim became a source of hope for hearts across all parts of Kurdistan, an inspiration for the mountains, and a guiding light for those who struggle.

Zeynep Kınacı was born on August 10, 1972, in the village of Elmalı, in Meletî (Malatya), as the youngest of seven children in a family from the Mamurekî tribe. Her family had modest means and reflected a social structure influenced by both feudal values and a petty-bourgeois Kemalist outlook. Zîlan completed her primary and secondary education in Meletî and graduated from Haydarpaşa Health Vocational High School in Istanbul. She began working in the health sector as a radiology technician at the Birecik State Hospital in Riha (Urfa). In 1990, she was admitted to the Faculty of Education at İnönü University and returned to Meletî, continuing her work at the State Hospital. She graduated from the Department of Guidance and Psychological Counseling, balancing both her professional and academic life. During her high school years, Zîlan developed an interest in leftist movements. In university, she grew sympathetic to the Kurdish movement and eventually came into contact with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). In 1994, she joined the PKK. On June 30, 1996, Zîlan carried out a self-sacrificing action in Cumhuriyet Square in Dersim during a flag ceremony held by Turkish soldiers. Disguised as a pregnant woman, she concealed explosives around her body and walked into the crowd of soldiers. Her action shook the Turkish army to its core. This act was a direct response to the assassination attempt targeting President Öcalan in Damascus on May 6, 1996, and symbolized the rising anger of the Kurdish people, especially Kurdish women. In defending President Öcalan, Zîlan was defending the very existence of the Kurdish people and their struggle for freedom.

President Öcalan’s reflections on the action of Martyr Zîlan are as follows: “Zîlan's personality is the embodiment of war, organization, freedom, deep passion for life, and love. This is very clear, and it is non-negotiable. No one has the right to either misunderstand it or neglect its responsibilities. We have always said: Zîlan's style, with her understanding of life, love, her warrior spirit, and her courage is a command for us. She is a true leader to us. The fact that this has manifested in a woman makes it even more valuable.

It marks a reversal of the centuries-old downfall of women, from Ishtar to Zîlan, a transformation towards dignity. And that signifies a true spring of freedom for the peoples of the Middle East.

The line of victory found its expression in women like Zîlan and paved the way for a great eruption of free womanhood and its heroic militants. Zîlan is a symbol for us; her memory is a command. We will carry out its responsibilities at all times and in all places. This is a serious stance. The ideological, political, and organizational dimensions of this line are striking. With her action, Zîlan not only condemned the enemy before her, imperialism and all forms of backwardness but, more profoundly, she rose up against all that has been imposed on women: a life reduced to petty fears, a system that erases their immense passion for freedom, and anything that prevents them from becoming people of great action. She declared this openly in her final testament. You are aware that the final words of her life were shaped by the style of great action and the longing for a life of true freedom and these are binding for us. The most meaningful life is one lived within this framework. It must be embraced fully. Those who fail to claim and embody its highest values can never truly thrive.

Comrade Zîlan said, ‘As I walk toward this action, I feel an incredible excitement and consider myself incredibly fortunate.’ She was right. Because it is rare to witness a person so passionately committed to life, someone who could plan such a powerful act with her entire body strapped in explosives. The depth of meaning lies here: on the one hand, she knew that with a single act she would burn and destroy everything that had imprisoned her, imperialism, colonialism, male domination, the enslavement and degradation of women and on the other hand, she also knew, with total sincerity, that she would become the embodiment of the life she longed for. She once said, ‘I want to be someone of meaningful life and action.’ So rather than constriction or despair, this kind of life, this kind of struggle filled her with immense joy. It became the very source of her life and happiness. Even in the most intense moments of action, this remained true. If this essence is truly internalized, no one will ever feel trapped, stuck, or hopeless in life. On the contrary, an extraordinarily passionate, hopeful, and successful life practice will emerge. And there are already thousands of other examples proving this.

Zîlan is not just a person. She is a line, a lifestyle, a method of struggle, and a path to victory.

Zîlan reached a clarity grounded in the revolutionary reality of resistance. She became the symbolic embodiment of the line of President Öcalan, rising against national, class, and gender inequality and enslavement. Therefore, we do not view the identity of Zîlan as that of a single individual, but rather as an ideological, political, organizational, and action-oriented line. In fact, she left behind letters that we consider her testament. These letters contain ideas that we all believe in, and we strive to realize them. They represent the goals to which our women’s movement will remain committed and serve as exemplary personalities. This is expressed at the highest level.

Let difficulties not discourage you. On the contrary, let them forge you like steel. And win life not through ease but through hardship, so that its value may be great. A life gained easily is not worth living. Besides, for us, an easy life is not even possible. Life in difficult times is a life of passion, a life of love. Only those who pass through great trials can live greatly. As Zîlan herself said, to live greatly is only possible through great acts. For us, this is the only life philosophy and it is the right one.”

Self-sacrifice: The indomitable spirit of Kurdistan

Self-sacrifice became the fire at the core of the Kurdish Freedom Movement. This fire was first sparked in the turbulent days of revolutionary struggle in Turkey during the 1970s. The determination in Mahir Çayan’s eyes, the defiant stance of Deniz Gezmiş on the gallows, the unwavering voice of İbrahim Kaypakkaya under torture, all carried into the Kurdish freedom struggle through the consciousness of President Öcalan. President Öcalan transformed this revolutionary legacy into the awakening of a people. The foundation of the PKK, and especially the martyrdom of Haki Karer in 1977, gave flesh and blood to the spirit of self-sacrifice. Haki Karer became a guiding light for the Apoist movement; his self-sacrificing stance shaped the PKK’s mode of struggle. His memory was a call to organize; his blood became the lifeblood that nurtured the seeds of freedom in Kurdistan.

The year 1982 was when the spirit of self-sacrifice turned into a legend in the prisons. The Amed dungeon had become a center of torture, forced submission, and inhuman treatment. Yet within those dark cells, the spirit of resistance of an entire people was born. On Newroz 1982, Mazlum Doğan lit the flame of freedom with three matchsticks. His resistance heralded the awakening of a nation. On the fifth anniversary of Haki Karer’s martyrdom, the “Four”, Ferhat Kurtay, Eşref Anyık, Mahmut Zengin, and Necmi Öner, set their bodies on fire, intensifying that flame. On July 14, the Great Death Fast Resistance of Kemal Pir, Hayri Durmuş, Akif Yılmaz, and Ali Çiçek crowned this spirit with victory. The resistance that rose in Diyarbakır prison against fascism, surrender, and betrayal gave birth to the self-sacrificing line of the Kurdistan Freedom Revolution. This line declared to the world the indestructibility of a people.

August 15, 1984, marked the day this spirit of self-sacrifice moved into the mountains. The guerrilla war, launched under the command of Mahsum Korkmaz (Agit), carried the legacy of the prison resistance to the peaks of Kurdistan. With each step, the guerrillas embodied Mazlum’s consciousness, the courage of the Four, and the willpower of July 14. Zeynep Kınacı carried this line one step further. Her self-sacrificing action placed women’s liberation at the heart of the Kurdish struggle and gave it a universal dimension. Zîlan became a goddess of freedom and a beacon of hope for all the oppressed.

Zîlan’s fire became the hope of the peoples

The self-sacrificing line represented by Zîlan lives on today in every corner and every heart of Kurdistan. The epic resistance rooted in legitimate self-defense across Zap, Avaşîn, and Metîna is the most vivid reflection of this legacy. As the guerrilla forces of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) and the Free Women’s Units (YJA-Star) resist the second-largest army of NATO, along with chemical and tactical nuclear weapons, they carry Zîlan’s indomitable spirit. In Werxelê, Şikefta Birîndara, Çiyayê Reş, Kurêjaro, Tepê Cûdî, FM, and Tepê Hakkari, every line of defense echoes Zîlan’s cry. In those positions, the consciousness of Mazlum Doğan, the courage of the Four, and the will of July 14 endure.

One of the most striking examples of this spirit is the Martyr Berxwedan battle trenches in the Martyr Şahin resistance area. For 48 days, the guerrillas heroically resisted all forms of war crimes committed by the fascist Turkish army. Fighter jets, helicopters, tanks, howitzers, chemical weapons, tactical nuclear weapons, none could break the will of the guerrillas. On the contrary, the guerrillas inflicted heavy losses on the enemy with relentless sabotage and assassination actions. On June 2, a four-person self-sacrificing team, Bager Gever, Avzem Çiya, Arîn Kobanê, and Şerzan Hingirvan, fought hand-to-hand, neutralizing dozens of invaders. In their final moments, they sacrificed themselves among the occupiers and turned the resistance into legend. This was the legacy of Zîlan: four people forcing an entire occupying army, one trying to crush the will of a people, to its knees. The line of Zîlan lives not only in the mountains but in all areas of life. In Rojava, in Shengal, in the streets of the diaspora, and in every Kurdish heart, this spirit resounds. Zîlan’s fire illuminates the hope of all oppressed peoples.

June 30 is not merely a day of remembrance, it is a vow. Zîlan’s self-sacrificing spirit is a call to every Kurd, to every freedom lover. It is a way of life that teaches how freedom is won. Zîlan is in the tears of the mother resisting in prison, in the sweat of the guerrilla fighting atop the peaks of Zap, in the echo of the women’s revolution in Rojava, and in the voice of the youth keeping the Vigil for Freedom in Europe.