“Women organized and created great change in the revolution”

Former TEV-DEM Executive Council Co-chair Asya Abdullah said since the TEV-DEM’s founding, it has cleared a path for women to fufill their natural duties in society and to fight against the patriarchal mindset.

The Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) held its 3rd congress in the Aram Tigram Cultural Center in Rimelan town of Qamishlo yesterday.

Former TEV-DEM Executive Council Co-chair Asya Abdullah, who handed over her title in the congress, spoke to ANHA about the role of women and the gains they achieved in TEV-DEM.

Asya Abdullah started her words by celebrating TEV-DEM’s 3rd congress for women, the Kurdish people and the peoples of Northern Syria and said the following on women’s role in the TEV-DEM efforts: “The purpose of TEV-DEM was to organize the people and build a moral-political society on the basis of justice, equality and the riddance of patriarchy. TEV-DEM started its efforts in the family, and organized society to emancipate women from slavery.”

Asya Abdullah said TEV-DEM cleared the way for women in the fight against patriarchy, the women thus organized and did that through their own free will.

Asya Abdullah stated that women created great change in TEV-DEM and society in general with their will and their fight, and added that they were in the lead for many areas including the building of communes and assemblies since the beginning of the Rojava Revolution: “Now women have great influence in TEV-DEM with their organization. They formed the Women’s Committee inside TEV-DEM to carry out women’s efforts, strengthen women and to promote their role in the building of a democratic society.”

Asya Abdullah said there was strong participation from women to the 3rd TEV-DEM congress and that this achievement was won through long and hard struggles against the sexist mindset in society.

32 out of the 64 people in the new Executive Council formed in the 3rd congress are women.