Demonstrations against patriarchal violence in Shehba and Aleppo

Thousands of people took to the streets in Shehba and Aleppo on the international day for the elimination of violence against women. The demonstrations, organised by Kongreya Star, were against patriarchal violence and occupation.

In Shehba and Aleppo, thousands of people took part in demonstrations organized by the women's association Kongreya Star to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

The demonstration in Shehba canton, where thousands of displaced people have been living since the occupation of Afrin in 2018, was held under the slogan "Fighting against violence and occupation" in the district of Fafin. At the closing rally, Şîraz Hemo delivered a speech on behalf of Kongreya Star, in which she addressed the harrowing situation of women in occupied Afrin and called for a fight against male and state violence. Hemo pointed out the role of women in the fight against ISIS and other Islamist groups in northern and eastern Syria and stated that the Turkish state and the big powers in the capitalist system want to destroy the organized women's liberation struggle.

In the self-governing neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd) in Aleppo, thousands of people took to the streets under the slogan "No to occupation and genocide, defend women and life". People from the Ashrafiyah neighborhood, which is also self-governing, also took part in the demonstration, many carrying pictures of Abdullah Öcalan and the martyrs of the liberation struggle.

Representing Kongreya Star, Nehla Mistefa explained that women have taken a leading role in the Rojava revolution and that the struggle of the Mirabal sisters, whose murder was the trigger for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, is being continued today by Kurdish women.