The 11th International Zilan Women’s Festival has been held in Dortmund, Germany yesterday, participated by thousands of women despite the rainy weather.

A placard reading “Women will build democratic system with free leadership” and the posters of Ivana Hoffman, Arin Mirkan and other YPJ fighters who fell in Rojava as well as posters of the three Kurdish women who were murdered in Paris on 9 January 2013 were hanged around the platform.

Following the opening speech and the message of KJK, Denge Xwezaye- Jinen Dengbej, Meral Tekçi and Zelal Gökçe took the stage for music performance, while the women in traditional clothes frequently chanted the slogans “Woman, Life, Freedom”, “Long Live Leader Apo”, “Long Live the resistance of YPJ/YPG”.

Commenting on the important role of the festival for the Kurdish women living Europe, the spokeswoman of the CENI (Kurdish Women’s Bureau for Peace), Ayten Kaplan, said this year’s festival has become all the more important as it was dedicated to the women who lost their lives in the fighting in Rojava, adding that Kobanê was liberated by the struggle of women like Arin Mirkan, while the internationalism of Ivana Hofmann has united women.

Kaplan recalled that the struggle waged by the women in Kobanê introduced the women’s struggle in Rojava to world public and added that the revolution in Rojava should continue to develop as a women’s revolution.

Virginie Dussen, one of the lawyers in Paris murders case, gave information regarding the case and said that the trial will begin soon if the lawyer of the suspect Ömer Güney does not raise objection within a month.

Dussen said the only suspect for the time being is Ömer Güney, however the lawyers try their best to include Turkey as well into the file, adding that the states treat these kind of cases and murders, where another state is involved, within a framework of negotiation and consensus with the other states.

Dussen stressed that the three women were murdered at the centre of Paris not in the mountain, adding that Rojbin was engaged in diplomatic works and that their murder was a deliberate plan targeting the Kurdish women. Dussen added that as the Kurdish women took the ownership of the case, the plan was defeated.

In the meantime, the mother of Ivana Hofman sent a message to the festival, saying that she finds it very important that the festival is dedicated to women fighters who lost their lives in Rojava and added that she always stands by the Kurdish women in their very legitimate fight. She further said Ivana had gone to Rojava following her dreams for women’s rights and liberation like all the other women who fought in Rojava, and added that “today our duty is to realize those dreams”.

At final of the festival, musician Pınar Aydınlar took the stage.