An Armenian Women's Council was founded at the 1st Armenian Women's Congress in Hesekê on Tuesday. In the run-up to the event, eighty meetings took place in various places in the autonomous region of northern and eastern Syria to draw attention to the importance of Armenian women having their own form of organisation. The preparation for the congress was made difficult by the permanent attacks by Turkey. Nevertheless, numerous women gathered today in the Til Hecer neighbourhood in Hesekê.

The congress discussed Armenian women's work in recent years and talked about the internal organisation system of the Women's Council. Two women from each canton of north-eastern Syria were elected to the board.

Anahit Qesebiyan from the preparatory committee of the congress explained at the end of the event that the foundation of the Armenian Women's Council 107 years after the genocide of the Armenians is a necessary step to preserve their own existence and culture. The established council represents the will and strength of Armenian women. "At the congress, it was decided that we, as the Armenian Women's Council, will fight for the freedom of women and society against the ruling system and patriarchal mentality," the declaration said.

The Women's Council wants to campaign for a worldwide recognition of the genocide of 1915 and considers the Turkish attacks on northern and eastern Syria as a continuation of the genocide. The Turkish state is continuing the genocidal plans of the Ottoman rulers and must be stopped, warns the council. As an immediate measure, the Women's Council demands the closure of the airspace over northern and eastern Syria to Turkey.”