Extermination of ethnicity along with extermination of women

We want to talk about what Kurdish women have been experiencing in the last section of this file, because Kurdish women have been subjected to dual attacks; against their ethnic and gender identity for centuries. In the regions where Kurds live, states keep being the executioners of women not only in the past but also today along with the groups they support. Kurdish women forming their defense units inspire women all over the world by organizing themselves.

New Center- Proving war crimes and revealing the truth have always been difficult for women. Even if everything happens before everyone’s eyes, the states have preferred ignoring crimes against ethnic and gender identity.

The number of women taken away from their homeland to other countries to be sold in markets during the invasions is still unknown. Even though states sign international conventions, the binding nature of these conventions has always been discussed. When the issue was women, crimes against humanity were ignored. Although it has left unnamed today, World War III has been going on in the Middle East for years. Migratory routes spreading from Syria to other countries all around the world, killed women before reaching these routes, women having a close brush with death due to their identities…

The first attack against Kurds by Ottoman Empire

Let’s start with Koçgiri to talk about what Kurdish women faced in the past. Koçgiri is the place where the Ottoman Empire first attacked the Kurds. Villages were burned down; thousands of people were killed there.  The name of the female commander who organized the Kurdish resistance was Zarife. Zarife, one of the first Kurdish female commanders, survived the massacre and organized resistance in Dersim.

Extermination attacks in Dersim

Dersim is still a bleeding wound. In 1937, total extermination attacks were launched against Dersim city, which has existed for thousands of years with its own culture and belief. 70,000 people were killed in the attacks. Thousands of women opted to throw themselves from cliffs to avoid being raped by soldiers. Hundreds of girls were stolen from their families and given up for adoption to Turkish families.

Massacre in Zilan Creek

At least 15,000 people were killed in the Zilan massacre. Hundreds of women were raped and killed; hundreds of women were put in cars and taken away. The fate and numbers of these women are still unknown.

The massacre in the Kurdistan region still continues. Along with physical genocide, political genocide is also a state policy that goes on today. The resistance against these genocide policies on language, cultures, and the existence of the Kurds continues. Thousands of cases of people, who were raped, tortured and disappeared, are waiting for being solved.

7,000 people were killed in Anfal

One of the most terrible brutal practices against Kurds took place between 1986 and 1988. Nearly 182,000 Kurds, including 7000 Kurds who were killed in the Halabja massacre carried out by the Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein, were killed in the Anfal Genocide. Hundreds of women were stolen from their families and their aftermath is still unknown. In the top-secret document written to the Iraqi Presidency by Iraqi military sources, it was stated that women were sent to Arab countries to work in the prostitution sector.

Data in Syria still unknown

Today, what is happening in Syria is terrible. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find out data about what women have been facing. War crimes being committed by the Syrian regime and paramilitary forces are getting worse day by day due to ongoing conflicts that started in 2011. The report prepared by the UN in 2018 announced that thousands of women and girls were raped during the civil war in the country. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the deaths of 353,900 people, including 106,000 civilians, as of 2018. The organization estimates that the deaths of 100,000 people have not been documented. 40 percent of killed people are women and children. At least 6.1 million Syrians have been displaced inside Syria due to the civil war; 5.6 million people left the country. Half of the Syrian refugees are women.

Women saved women in Shengal

The war in the Middle East is carried out by ISIS and jihadist groups. Kurdish women show a great organized resistance against systematic annihilation attacks. ISIS invaded Mosul in June 2014. Then they invaded Shengal, where Yazidi Kurds lived, one of the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia. After local forces run away from Shengal, men were killed by firing squads village by village in 2014. Girls and women were abducted by ISIS. 7,000 women and girls were abducted by ISIS, according to a report. The aftermath of many of these women is still unknown.

YJA Star and HPG fighters were the first fighters who went to Shengal to save Yazidi women. Yazidi women formed their own defense unit. Yazidi women resisted and liberated Shengal from ISIS members.

Women's revolution in Rojava

A women's revolution took place in Rojava. Women’s Defense Units were founded on April 4, 2013. The attacks of the jihadist group called Al Nusra, Al Qaeda, against Rojava were defeated by the defense forces. After Shengal, ISIS attacked Rojava. ISIS attacked Kobane, one of the Rojava cantons, in October 2014. Thousands of women joined the YPJ and fought against ISIS in Manbij, Tabqa and Raqqa and Derazor and took an active role in the liberation of these cities.

Women targeted in Afrin

On January 20, 2018, the Turkish state attacked one of Rojava cantons, Afrin. During those attacks, jihadist groups killed YPJ fighter Barin Kobane. A video showing how the jihadist groups’ members tortured her dead body was shared on social media. Many girls were abducted and women were raped in the attacks.

Afrîn Human Rights Organization organized a workshop on January 29, 2021, in NE Syria. The organization shared its comprehensive report on what Turkey and Turkish-backed paramilitary forces did in the last three years. The organization pointed out the ethnic and cultural genocide against the Kurdish people in the report. The report says that more than 696 civilians, including 303 children and 213 women, were wounded due to bombardment. In 2019, 6000 people were kidnapped and their families were demanded to pay the ransom. After women and children were abducted and tortured, their footage was sent to their families for paying the ransom. Between 2018 and 2019, 40 women were killed, 128 women were wounded, and 60 girls were raped.

Serekaniye/ Girê Spî

On October 9, 2019, the Syrian National Army (SNA) began to attack Serekaniye (Ras al-Ayn) and Girê Spî (Tell Abyad). They targeted women again. On October 12, Syrian Future Party Co-chair Hevrin Khalaf was killed near the M4 Motorway south of Girê Spî. The video showing the massacre was shared on social media. On October 26, YPJ fighter Amara Renas was killed and her body was brutally tortured and this incident was filmed and shared on social media. Many women were kidnapped in the villages of Girê Spî. And according to local sources, women have been forced to wear the black burqa. 

Nation-state structures dominated by the male mindset aimto extend the life of the system that laid its foundations by creating wars andconflicts, chaos. Oppressed peoples, ethnic and religious structures, mostlywomen, have been the target of totalitarian, dictator, fascist, militarist, andchauvinist reactionary male-dominated structures. Undoubtedly, there has alwaysbeen an ongoing resistance against these. The resistance rising in manycountries all around the world in order to guarantee their existence andfreedom will succeed along with a universal and common struggle led by women inthe 21st century. It is obvious that Kurdish women are the power that has thepotential to change the male-dominated reactionary system and its mentality by creatingself-defense among peoples living in the Middle East and expanding itspolitical and social organization.