Happy International Women\u2019s Day to all women around the world who are fighting for the rights to their labor, to all of humanity struggling for this cause, and to Kurdish women! March 8 is a day of unity and struggle for all women. As the Kurdish Women\u2019s Freedom Movement, we stand in respectful tribute to the memory of all women who have fallen as martyrs in the struggle for freedom.\u00a0 We salute the awakening of women\u2014who have transformed every sphere of life\u2014whether in prison, in the mountains, on the streets, at work, in the farmlands, or at home\u2014into a space of freedom, and we celebrate the magnificent actions being developed against all forms of oppression, violence, and massacres. As the Kurdistan Women\u2019s Freedom Movement, for over 40 years we have been waging a great struggle to strengthen the ideology of women\u2019s liberation, to bring to light women\u2019s power of self-defense and consciousness, to ensure women\u2019s equal and free representation in the political arena, to overcome sexism in all spheres of life, and thereby to accelerate the cause of women\u2019s liberation. We have always attached great importance and significance to sharing the results we have achieved on this path with women around the world. And now, with great excitement, enthusiasm, and determination, we aim to fulfill our mission within the universal women\u2019s freedom movement to transform the 21st century into an era of women\u2019s freedom and to realize the second great women\u2019s revolution.<\/p>\n
As you have all been closely following, we have entered 2026 amid a dizzying pace of developments. The world is rapidly evolving toward a multipolar, fractionalized order. The global system has fallen apart. The profile of populist and machoist leaders around the world has allowed the interests of those in power to be placed above all other values. Our world has been rendered unlivable due to hostile competition and power dynamics. Capitalism and patriarchy are causing the ground beneath our feet to crumble. For all these reasons, the international system based on rights and rules has reached the brink of collapse. U.S. President D. Trump has driven the final nail into the coffin of the nation-state with all his deeds and words. Today, the rules of a collapsing world are being dictated by despots, narcissist and misogynistic leaders. Unfortunately, democracies today are unable to effectively curb this ongoing destructive trajectory. In this situation, the primary question for women is: How should we interpret this process, and how should we position ourselves? This is the fundamental question that must be answered from the perspective of the people\u2014and specifically, women. It has become abundantly clear that, contrary to claims, the international system not only fails to provide a protective, balancing, and unifying framework for the lives of the people, but is also both the cause and the consequence of all negative conditions affecting women. The era of the nation-state has ended; the masks of the nation-state\u2019s gods have fallen, revealing the multiple crises they have created.<\/p>\n
Toward’s the end of the 21st century, with the dissolution of the two-polar world order, the search for a New World Order began. The Yugoslav War, the Iraq War, the uprisings and wars that began with the Arab Spring, the Russia-Ukraine War, the Israel-Gaza War, and the ongoing wars in all parts of Kurdistan\u2014divided among four colonial powers\u2014have intensified and deepened since the 1990s. These colonial wars, which have ravaged our planet, have not stopped; they are being systematically perpetuated by the dominant powers. Rather than resolving existing problems, the wars being waged have only deepened them further and have razed everything belonging to the former world to the ground. As Gramsci said, \u201cThe old world is dying, the new world is struggling to be born\u2014now is the time of the monsters.\u201d <\/em>In recent days, everyone has been expressing this reality. Humanity now lives in an era ruled by the power of the strong. While the nation-state binds society to power through the bond of citizenship, it has dealt the greatest setback to commune. Every aspect that sustains a society\u2014such as the economy, ecology, health, housing, education, and self-defense\u2014has been played with by the state. Peoples and communities have been left defenseless. The forces that should be responsible for the people\u2019s defense are either become aggressors looking to seize the lands and wealth of others, or are being positioned in favour of the actual aggressors.<\/p>\n Even after our planet has been sending out distress signals for a long time, ecological disasters continue to be caused, and genocides and mass deportations are still taking place\u2014all in the name of greater wealth. Why, as our planet stands on the brink of destruction due to such exploitation, do governments refuse to sign the necessary agreements, and why aren\u2019t the necessary restrictions imposed on corporations? Science and technology\u2014which should be focused on solving our existing problems\u2014have turned into a powerful weapon in the hands of those in power and are being used against humanity. Why are our food and drinking water being poisoned, and why aren\u2019t the resulting diseases being prevented? The answer to all these questions is very simple: so that certain people can make more profit. Problems such as poverty, inequality, social oppression, the rise of authoritarianism, the environmental crisis, pollution, loss of biodiversity, and the uncontrolled use of technology are the result of the battles waged by the capitalist system to secure its competitive advantages.<\/p>\n It is time to break free from the illusion that states exist to serve the people. Nation-states are the fundamental pillar of the capitalist system (of capitalists and centralized power structures). To maintain their power, they rely on the people, workers, the unemployed, the military, raw materials, migrants, the family structure, technology, and ideologies that perpetuate exploitation (nationalism, religious fundamentalism, sexism, and scientism).\u00a0 No people\u2014especially those outside the circle of power\u2014can claim that nation-states represent them. People know they are oppressed, exploited, and suppressed under the rule of the state, yet they tolerate all these violations of their rights due to the misconception that life without a state is impossible.<\/p>\n As women, we have no state; as workers, we have no state; as migrants, we have no state; as indigenous peoples, we have no state. When we say we have no state, we mean that there has never been\u2014and never will be\u2014a state that represents us, protects our interests, or prioritizes our well-being. Women around the world are still forced to fight for equality in every sphere. Because in all areas of life, women are still systematically subjected to male violence. The question to be asked is: who is maintaining this system\u2014and how\u2014despite the fact that women make up half the world\u2019s population?<\/p>\n Why are state leaders\u2014such as the Taliban in Afghanistan and Jolani in Syria\u2014being forcibly placed in power with the support of external forces, despite the objections of the people living in those countries, and why are leaders or forces that have earned the people\u2019s support and approval being killed, kidnapped, criminalized, or arrested? Because the interests of those in power take precedence, not the will of the people.<\/p>\n People have been dragged into wars that are not their own and turned into tools in the struggle for others\u2019 interests. How is it that people are paying the heaviest price for policies they did not determine themselves? Up until now, the misconception that the state would guarantee the people\u2019s legitimate demands has not only deprived us of our own foundations but has also led us to preserve the power of those in authority.<\/p>\n So how did those in power accomplish this? Not solely through brute force\u2014though this was certainly never in short supply. The state\u2019s military, police, legal system, and media were all deployed against segments of society that refused to comply\u2014and specifically against women. More importantly, this ideology of nationalism, religious fundamentalism, scientism, and sexism integrated the people and societies into its system.<\/p>\n All struggles for freedom and equality waged to date, stemming from this mindset, have not only failed to distinguish themselves from their opponents, but have also ended up strengthening the very thing they were fighting against. The national liberation struggles and class struggles of the 19th and 20th centuries met the same fate. All centers of resistance that fail to create their own alternative modernity in the face of this system cannot escape this same fate.<\/p>\n Male dominance and the phenomena of power consolidation, class division, militarism, and religious fundamentalism that have emerged on this basis have been striking, murdering, and exploiting us women for thousands of years. Patriarchal civilization, which has institutionalized oppression and exploitation, is today being shaken by realities that resemble sheer savagery. The Jeffrey Epstein criminal case files, which all of humanity and women have been watching in astonishment for days, have become a testimony to the male-dominated system. The exposure of the powerful and wealthy as rapists cannot be interpreted as a glitch in the system or an isolated incident. The true rapist is the capitalist system itself, shaped by patriarchal codes.<\/p>\n Yes, dear sisters, we are at the point where our fate is either freedom or brutality! The assertion that women\u2019s freedom is the foundation of all freedoms is not merely a theoretical proposition; it is the foundation of all social freedoms. The enslavement of women and feminicide are also the foundation of all forms of enslavement and power struggles. The only way to free ourselves from all the evils created by those in power is through women\u2019s freedom. If the deprivation of rights, the suppression of will, and the exploitation of labor created by the patriarchal system were not so deeply entrenched, the revelation of the Epstein files would have sparked an uproar not only among women but among all of humanity. The issue goes far beyond being an extraordinary scandal. Once again, we see that capital relations, intertwined with male-dominated power networks, have turned the legal sphere into a private domain of men. Male-dominated power structures protect the perpetrators while devaluing and rendering the victims\u2019 testimonies invalid. Violence is a structural phenomenon in all areas of the patriarchal system. Today, the demonization of \u201cJ. Epstein\u201d is a form of concealing the very masculinity and power dynamics that made such monstrosity possible. As women, we must begin by questioning the system that gives rise to such immense barbarism. The J. Epstein case is a portrait of systematic male violence. The historical realities of cannibalism, barbarism, and predatory behavior are precisely what have come to light in the criminal network created by Epstein. This is not an isolated example of the patriarchal system we live in. The \u201cEpstein crime island\u201d is the capitalist order itself. Every day, all over the world, we see and experience examples of the immense evil created when the patriarchal system intersects with capital and power. If we go about our lives and approach these issues without targeting and changing the patriarchal order that enables abuse, each revelation may make headlines, yet the system will remain intact.<\/p>\n Women\u2019s freedom means taking on a massive, radical struggle. Because of the issues we\u2019ve been evaluating, we as women must free ourselves from everything associated with power\u2014its mindset, culture, way of life, and tools. Otherwise, we cannot save ourselves from becoming victims of this monstrous system. We must now focus on developing our own struggle, not that of others. To do this, we must create our own paradigm, institutions, alternative system, and culture\u2014ones that allow us to develop and protect ourselves, our society, our lands (our living spaces), our nature, and our labor. We must also lead the struggle to foster an alternative way of life\u2014the antidote to all forms of power.<\/p>\n Because the capitalist system is founded on the exploitation of women\u2014which is why the exploitation of women serves as the system\u2019s most crucial pillar. To dismantle this most crucial pillar of the system, we must lead the way in alternative struggles.<\/p>\n Because the women\u2019s struggle is the longest-standing and most universal struggle there is. The politicization of women\u2014with its universal significance at the forefront\u2014will offer in-depth analysis and radical solutions to issues such as human rights, social and cultural rights, sensitivity to nature and environmental concerns, children\u2019s rights, and health and education.<\/p>\n Because women are also the driving force of socialism, the issue of gender freedom is more important than the question of class or nation. It is significant both historically and socially. It is more valuable and comprehensive than the politics conducted in the name of class and nation. For this reason, we believe that the communalist struggle will achieve the success it deserves only when the reality that women constitute the bottom and most completely marginalized class in society is recognized and overcome\u2014and we declare that women are also the pioneers in the construction of Democratic Socialism! It has become clear that a socialist struggle that fails the test of women\u2019s freedom cannot achieve the results it deserves.<\/p>\n In the face of the barbaric practices of the patriarchal system that make life difficult for all living beings, women must step forward as the force that should promote peace and democracy above all else. It is us women who will stop the flow of blood and put the brake on all the barbarism created by the male mind. Women everywhere must be advocates for peace and democracy; otherwise, in the wars ruthlessly waged by the male mind, there will be no peaceful, tranquil havens left for any of us to take refuge in.<\/p>\n Rebelling against the male-dominated mindset and system undoubtedly demands great sacrifices; this requires immense organization, a profound struggle, and efforts at self-defense. As we have seen time and again, in all crisis-ridden regions and during the processes of overthrowing authoritarian regimes, women have been the most radical driving force behind mass actions. Yet, at the negotiating tables, it is women whose rights, existence, voices, and achievements are ignored. Wherever we are, we must bring the status of women to the forefront as a strategic issue. With the awareness that \u201cif we win, we win together; if we lose, we lose together,\u201d we must listen to the rising women\u2019s resistance and protest around the world, and elevate solidarity to a level that transcends all the boundaries woven by those in power. We must view the pain, joy, successes, and achievements of our sisters as our own legacy and embrace them as our own.<\/p>\n At this turning point in history, it is essential that we organize on a universal level and build a system of women\u2019s freedom and equality on a global scale in opposition to the sexist, patriarchal, capitalist world system. To this end, we must develop democratic women\u2019s alliances. We must develop strategies, methods, and perspectives for our struggle that are suited to the conditions, characteristics, and needs of the 21st century. Essentially, we must collectively formulate a 21st-century women\u2019s liberation program. The sharp increase in attacks against women on a global scale is directly linked to this crisis and the relationship between the patriarchal capitalist world system and women\u2019s freedom. We must recognize the connection between mass rapes in Asia and sexual violence in the United States. We must address comprehensively the femicides in Latin America\u2014which have reached genocidal proportions\u2014along with the abduction and enslavement of women and girls by gangs masquerading as religious groups in Africa and the Middle East. We must evaluate together the rise of fascist, misogynistic regimes alongside the rollback of women\u2019s rights that were won through struggle. And we must clearly recognize that this war waged by the patriarchal system on a global scale aims to stifle the rising quest for and struggle for women\u2019s freedom. For the male-dominated system has perhaps never been so challenged at any stage in the history of civilization, nor has its foundation ever been so shaken. And from the women\u2019s perspective, the conditions for securing their freedom have never been so ripe. The possibilities for realizing history\u2019s second great women\u2019s revolution have never been greater. That is why we are passing through a historic period. Alongside great risks, there are also great opportunities of freedom.<\/p>\n As Kurdish women, we are welcoming the 116th International Working Women\u2019s Day with great enthusiasm. With this brief letter, we wanted to share our thoughts and hopes regarding this process with our dear sisters and women\u2019s organizations. On this occasion, we celebrate the 116th International Working Women\u2019s Day with all of you. With the power and light of our shared women\u2019s struggle, we renew our pledge to uproot the darkness created by domination and patriarchy from our lives and make every day March 8.<\/p>\n Greetings to our symbols of resistance, the Rozas and the Saras!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Happy International Women\u2019s Day to all women around the world who are fighting for the rights to their labor, to all of humanity struggling for this cause, and to Kurdish women! March 8 is a day of unity and struggle for all women. As the Kurdish Women\u2019s Freedom Movement, we stand in respectful tribute to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,20,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-latest-news","category-statements"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n