Women in Qamishlo demonstrate against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan

In Qamishlo, hundreds of women protested against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and called for a solution to the Kurdish question.

The women's umbrella organisation in North-East Syria, Kongra Star, protested in Qamishlo against the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and called for a political solution to the Kurdish question. Hundreds of women took part in the demonstration, including members of the Democratic Autonomous Administration in the North and East Syria Region (DAANES).


Kongra Star Coordination member Şiraz Hemo stated that the women's movement recognises Abdullah Öcalan as a negotiator for a solution to the Kurdish question and that his ideas are a key to finding solutions to the crises in the Middle East. Drawing attention to the women's struggle against isolation, Şiraz Hemo stated that the conspiracy against Abdullah Öcalan was thwarted under the leadership of women. "The struggle waged on Imrali is a struggle for dignity, a struggle for existence. That is why we will intensify our struggle against isolation,” said Şiraz Hemo.

The march ended with the slogans "Bê Serok jiyan nabe" (No life without the leader), "Bijî berxwedana Îmraliye" (Long live the İmralı resistance) and "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî"(Woman, Life, Freedom).

The central maxim of Kongra Star is "Jin, Jiyan, Azadî"). This Kurdish exclamation has been the motto of Kurdish women's liberation ideology for decades. "Jin Jiyan Azadî" stands not only for resistance, but also for the will, the strength and the organisation to build a new system under the leadership of women. The author of this formula is Abdullah Öcalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Since the 1980s, he has repeatedly emphasised in his speeches and writings that the words “Jin” and “Jiyan” have the same roots and the same meaning in Kurdistan, and that a free life is not possible without the liberation of women. Öcalan has been held on the Turkish prison island of Imrali since 1999 and is completely isolated from the outside world. Since March 2021, there has been no sign of life from the Kurdish leader and his three fellow prisoners Ömer Hayri Konar, Hamili Yıldırım and Veysi Aktaş.