Kongra Star shows solidarity with the struggle of Afghan women: Together against patriarchy and for women’s rights”
On the third anniversary of the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, we express our full solidarity with the struggle of women in Afghanistan who are fighting a determined battle against the systematic violation of women’s rights being committed by the Taliban. The courage of these women in the face of an authoritarian regime that seeks to erase their identity and silence their voices is an inspiration to all who fight for freedom and dignity.
We reaffirm the unity of the feminist struggle by joining the campaign launched by the Window of Hope women’s movement in Afghanistan. Together with them, we raise our voices and call on all feminist movements, human rights organizations and women’s rights activists around the world to stand with the women of Afghanistan on 15 August and every other day.
Here in Rojava / North and East Syria, we started a women’s revolution 12 years ago with the philosophy of Jin Jiyan Azadi, where women’s liberation is at the center of our struggle. This philosophy is the strongest and necessary weapon in the fight against injustice and the way to build a society that respects human dignity and recognizes women’s rights. Women have been vanguards in the fight against oppressive regimes and it has been women’s movements that have been the torch
that has lit the path to freedom. The struggle of women in Aghanistan is an existential struggle, a life and death struggle aimed at protecting the gains of women and upholding the flag of freedom in the face of tyranny. In the 21st century, women’s voices are rising everywhere to demand freedom and justice and to challenge reactionary patriarchal regimes. But these regimes, whether in Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Tunisia, Iraq, Turkey or Syria will not be able to silence our struggle, because we at Kongra Star believe that women’s voices are invincible and their will cannot be broken.
Any attack on the rights of one woman is an attack on all women. Women’s achievements are the common heritage of all women, regardless of place and time. Therefor we call for uniting efforts and strengthening feminist solidarity worldwide, because our struggle is the same and our enemy is the same. We cannot rely on the same states and actors that created all this oppression to undo it. As Abdullah Ocalan said, “Women’s self-defense is a very serious issue that cannot be left to the mercy of men”. The fact that the patriarchal systems will always oppose freedom means for us that it is necessary to organize ourselves to defend ourselves against them. Resistance wins where it is organized; where concrete, sustainable structures of self-defense are built. It is important that women organize autonomously in self-defense and other structures.
Let us stand together, hand in hand, until we are victorious in our common struggle against patriarchy. Let us make this day a turning point in our ongoing struggle for a more just and humane world.
Long live the struggle of Afghan women!
Jin Jiyan Azadi!
Kongra Star
Rojava, North and East Syria
August 14, 2024