Theatrical performance by YJA Star guerrillas in remembrance of Zîlan

28 years ago, guerrilla fighter Zîlan blew herself up in a Turkish military unit in Dersim, setting a beacon for the Kurdish freedom movement. Guerrillas from the YJA Star staged a performance of Zîlan's story.

At a commemorative event to mark the 28th anniversary of the death of guerrilla fighter Zîlan (Zeynep Kınacı), guerrillas from YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) paid tribute to fallen revolutionaries of the Kurdish women's movement with artistic performances. At the event in the guerrilla-held Medya Defence Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), the role women have played in the history of the freedom struggle in Kurdistan was staged. The staging of the story of Zîlan, who blew herself up in a Turkish military unit in Dersim in 1996 and thus set a beacon for the Kurdish freedom movement, also recalled the legendary resistance of Sakine Cansız in the dungeon of Amed (Diyarbakır) after the Turkish military coup of 1980 and other female freedom fighters. Theatre, dance, music and poetry were used to highlight the significance of Zîlan's action.