JAKJIN DAMHAT

News Center_ The revolutionary uprising “Jin Jiyan Azadi”_meaning “Woman, Life, Freedom” _ in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran is marking four years of struggle sice its lauch on September 16, 2022, following the killing of Kurdish young woman jina Amini from the city of Saqqez.

Jina Amini had been arrested by the so‑called "morality police" while with her family in Tehran, on the pretext of not adhering to the hijab, before she died as a result of violence and torture, igniting a wave of widespread protests that began in Eastern Kurdistan and quickly spread throughout Iran.

The uprising became one of the most prominent social and political movements opposing the Islamic Republic regime, and it also brought back to the forefront the pioneering role of Kurdish and Iranian women in the struggle for freedom and equality.

Despite pressures, arrests, and severe violence by Iranian security forces, the spirit of this uprising and its impact on social consciousness continue and are clearly visible in the details of daily life.

On the occasion of the fourth anniversary of the uprising, HPJ fighter Amargi Umut spoke to our agency about the phase women are going through in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran, affirming that no one can stand in the face of women.

She said that the pressures and violence systematically practiced by the Iranian regime against women made the Jin Jiyan Azadî uprising a decisive response by women: "Since the regime's violence was deepening day by day, women could no longer bear the regime's pressures that were being exercised against them at their highest levels. When one looks at the uprising in general, one sees that the regime tried through executions, arrests, and various ways and methods to stand in the face of the uprising. Yet women no longer have any capacity to bear these methods, and now, no matter what they do, no one can stand in the face of women."

Amargi Umut stressed that women are waging a strong struggle against patriarchal mentality and want to change this mentality, and they also want women to reach their sacred feminine essence: "The uprising left a great impact that made women rise in pioneering roles. We, as the Women's Protection Forces in Eastern Kurdistan (HPJ), want to play an important role in this uprising and to lead society. In particular, we as women want to play our fundamental role in the Jin Jiyan Azadî uprising and to be a decisive response that meets its requirements."

"Women Must Educate and Train Themselves"

She pointed out that in order to strengthen and organize women's organizations in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran, there is an urgent need for unity and strong organization: "All women's institutions and organizations in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran must unite in the face of the pressures and violence practiced against women, establish communes, and open discussions about building the free personality of women. It is necessary for women to educate and train themselves by all means and methods, so that they can protect themselves against all forms of psychological and physical violence practiced against them."

"Every Woman Must Protect Herself"

Amargi Umut also pointed to the Iranian regime's method of training women inside mosques to use weapons, considering that this training is offered to women according to patriarchal mentality: "We know well that these trainings are offered with the mentality of men and with the aim of serving patriarchal thought. It is necessary for every woman to protect herself by all means, but it is essential to know what the weapons training offered by the regime serves. Do these trainings being offered truly serve women's freedom and identity, or not?"

 

"We Reject the Execution, Arrest, or Torture of Any Woman"

She stressed her categorical rejection of the execution, arrest, or torture of any woman, pointing to the immense pressures being exerted on women by all means: "No woman can stand by watching another woman being tortured and executed. Now the regime is presenting society and women and training them according to its whims by various methods, but this, in essence, is nothing but the exploitation of women.

"All Women of the World Must Embrace the Jin Jiyan Azadî Uprising"

Amargi Umut believes that all women of the world must embrace and rally around the uprising that began with the slogan Jin Jiyan Azadî: "All women must be a voice for the women who are being killed, executed, and assaulted in the prisons of the Iranian regime, and the work we do should not be limited to a few words and statements only."

She believes that "it is necessary to make efforts and struggle for the security and safety of all women. Women in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran should also organize themselves, and we will wage the struggle together, side by side with these organizations. From the age of seven to seventy, it is everyone's duty to be a voice for this revolution, and we, as a women's organization and as the Women's Protection Forces (HPJ), will strengthen and reinforce our struggle, and we will be a voice for the Jin Jiyan Azadî uprising."