13 years ago, we ended the fire of the popular uprising that started in Tunisia and reached the Middle East with the women’s revolution in Rojava. In Kobanê, our people expelled the colonialist forces from our land and proclaimed our revolution on July 19, 2012. Shortly afterwards, our revolution achieved victory in Efrîn and Cizîre. As women, we took our place at the forefront of our revolution, from the defence to the construction of the revolution, by becoming an army, organizing and institutionalizing ourselves and paying the price in every phase and in every field of our revolution.
Our struggle is not only against the colonialists, but also against the patriarchy. We have achieved great accomplishments: co-presidency, equal representation, women’s organizations parallel to all institutions and organizations, we have taken our place as partners in our revolution.
While our liberating and democratic women’s revolution has brought hope to women and the oppressed of the region and the world, reactionary, colonialist and imperialist forces have opposed our revolution. The Al Nusra, FSA, DAESH gangs tried to suffocate our revolution. As all women, especially our YPJ comrades, we became a barricade against the enemies of women.
In Kobanê many Arins, Saryas, Rêvans defended our revolution with their bodies, led the resistance to victory and initiated the defeat of DAESH. With the liberation of Minbic, Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zor from DAESH and the voluntary and equal participation of the peoples, our revolution became the revolution of North and East Syria. Here too, our sisters carried our revolution and brought our women’s revolution to life.
When the Turkish state and its collaborator, DAESH, were defeated, it attacked our revolution. They first occupied Efrîn, which we had declared a women’s canton, and then Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî. In all the territories they occupied, they first attempted to destroy the will of women and attacked with thousands of methods to enslave women under men. They inflicted great suffering and massacres on the peoples and women. We will definitely hold them accountable and liberate our lands.
For 10 months there has been a great resistance in Palestine, right next to us, and at the same time a genocide. Our Palestinian people can only preserve their existence with great resistance and at great cost. The Turkish state is the twin brother of Israel. It is just as genocidal and massacring. It is looking for an opportunity to destroy our revolution and occupy our country. We have put up great resistance and fought wars so far, but the process forces us to be prepared for greater wars.
To this end, we call on all our peoples, especially all women, to organize themselves, to prepare for war in all its dimensions, to join the YPJ-QSD, to take responsibility in the HPC and HPC-Jin. No power can defeat an organized and prepared people.
Those who brought the July 19 Revolution this far are our martyrs and veterans, who have demonstarted dedicated resistance and sacrifice. We will follow in their footsteps and defend our revolution, the revolution of women. We will make our revolution the basis of new revolutions, the regional revolution in the Middle East. We send our greetings and our love to all the women who have come here and become the force of the revolution or who defend our revolution in their areas and put forward the strongest examples of international struggle.
The Rojava revolution is the revolution of all women of the world. Let us defend our revolution everywhere against the patriarchal capitalist system! Let’s make the 21st century the century of women’s revolution!
Happy July 19th to our martyrs, the families of the martyrs, the women and all our peoples.
We will defend our revolution against patriarchy, occupation and colonialism.
Long live our women’s revolution!
Long live socialism!
JINÊN KOMÛNÎST ÊN ŞOREŞGER (JKŞ)*
*This article of JKŞ is translated by People’s Bridge.
