This is an era of growing resistance, markedly by and for women, against the reactionary attacks of conservative neoliberalism. Women are the primary targets of all forms of violence - visible as well as invisible - based on gender discrimination, as they are exposed to the most severe forms of neoliberal and neo-fascist assaults. In response to this exacerbating process of oppression, women’s resistance in the Middle East is growing. Focusing on Rojava in Kurdistan, the "Jin Jiyan Azadi" actions that started in Iran have inspired women all over the world. The “rebellion" actions against the reactionary-fascist Taliban in Afghanistan, and the struggles of women for labor in Africa, Asia, and America, offer women across the world much hope in these challenging times. These uprisings, all such organized resistance resembles a flower breaking through concrete in the pursuit of a free life.
The world we live in today is characterized by massive social upheavals and overwhelming neoliberal attacks on the working people. Social and political movements across the world are finding new ways and reinvigorating old methods of resisting the impact of relentless economic exploitation and defying their profane attempts at moral decay. These uprisings are inextricably linked to the current crises of capitalism, which finds itself in a deadly spiral of contradictions.
Considering the complexity and intensity of the problems of capitalism and all the destruction it brings about, it is clear that the crises of capitalism cannot be easily solved. Exploitation and oppression prevail not only on an economic level but also on social, cultural, and moral levels.
This deep inequality is an expression of a misogynistic system that places women at the heart of the debate in the current crises of capitalism.
Young women are particularly affected by such contradictions as they are encouraged to reject the old image of conservative and traditional women but are expected to assume a form believing in individual freedom as the most sacred right. However, this deliberately misguiding belief actually reproduces the patriarchal mentality and coerces women into merely becoming puppets of the patriarchal state. Young women are constantly being stripped of their identity and made to feel worthless.
As Rêber Apo said,
"In the capitalist system, their bodies are dissected like a butcher's, and a price is assigned to each part. From their hair to their heels, from their chest to their hips, from their abdomen to their genitals, from their shoulders to their knees, from their waist to their calves, from their eyes to their lips, from their cheeks to their neck, it seems that no part has been left without a value (amount/price) assigned to it. Unfortunately, nobody asks whether she has a soul and, if so, what her state of mind is like."
However, the spirit of youth and the historical struggle of all women in the world unites under the leadership of young women, who are the vanguard of the revolution.
The wave of resistance and change initiated by women with Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom) destroyed all these notions and became a beacon of light for women around the world. Neoliberal policies create divisions in the social realm and fragment the political sphere, making it even more challenging to create a unified basis for the struggle. At this point, an alternative to reactionary and neoliberal fragmentation amidst increasing waves of authoritarianism seems impossible. In the midst of this invisibility, it is especially important to remember the liberation movements of history and highlight the growing social resistance and revolts in the present time, from Syria to Iran, from Kurdistan to Turkey, from India to Chile.
Young women, who are subjected to brutal oppression and violence, continue to be at the forefront of mobilization globally. The massacre of fighters in the YPJ and YJA STAR with chemical weapons, the murder of Kurdish activists working in Europe, the abduction of women in Afrin, the execution of women in Afghanistan and Iran, are just a few examples of the ruthlessness of the war waged by nation-states against the growing women’s struggles. Women, who are most exposed to the blows of crisis-ridden capitalism, continue to lead the fight from within its core with their high participation in popular uprisings in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Abya Yala (Latin America).
Capitalist tendencies and this neoliberal wave have exacerbated their gender-specific impacts worldwide. They have intensified patriarchal subjugation, gender-based violence, as well as oppression and exploitation of women.
Consequently, the numerous crises brought about by the contradictions of capitalism have accelerated the anti-neoliberal and socialist organizing of all women, as can be seen in Rojava, Iran, Venezuela, and Afghanistan.
The attempts of nation-states to control women's bodies have triggered protests from women's organizations around the world. In Argentina, women took to the streets en masse, with symbolic green handkerchiefs, to fight for the legalization of abortion.
In Bolivia, women are once again at the forefront of protests against the coup against Evo Morales and the Movement for Socialism (MAS) in 2019. Since the coup, the ruling government has humiliated and persecuted entire rural populations and indigenous peoples. The women's demonstrations included demands for a change of government and the liberation of women and indigenous peoples.
In Brazil, after Bolsonaro took the government, many women mobilized. The famous Ele Não (Not Him) march in September 2018 was the largest demonstration in Brazilian history. Thousands of women and men filled the streets in more than 114 Brazilian cities against the rise of misogyny and the ultra-conservative candidate Jair Bolsonaro who was recently ousted from power.
Thousands of YPJ (Women's Protection Units) fighters joined the fight for women and land against the attacks of ISIS gangs in Rojava and Shengal, knowing how to protect these areas. The attempts of the Turkish army to invade Kurdistan were thwarted by the YJA-Star guerrillas, who fought and won against the enemy on an equal footing.
Here, we commemorate the fallen comrades Şehîd Gulçiya Gabar and Pelşîn Newroz, who have shown unwavering resistance for years and recently joined the Caravan of the Immortals.
The struggle of women in Chile has intensified in recent years. The demonstrations on March 8, International Women's Day, clearly displayed an exponential growth in the feminist movement. The women’s movement has strengthened its organizational power with the establishment of the Feminist Coordination of March 8. More than three thousand women came together to discuss the program and plan the way forward. The feminist movement made patriarchal violence visible with the collective performance "Las Tesis" and the slogan "You are the rapist," which inspired similar performances as it resonated in languages around the world.
These examples, the ongoing processes of struggle and resistance, should place women and their demands at the centre of the analyses and discussions on building a new world.
With the repression of the pandemic, attempts were made to suppress these large waves of resistance.
Nonetheless, young women have repeatedly demonstrated their potential for creation, resistance, and solidarity in the face of capitalism and destruction around the world. Not only do they resist neoliberal and reactionary policies, but they also show us the myriad possibilities of social struggle. These emerging struggles are a result of similar processes across the world. The various alternatives imagined and constructed demonstrate the importance of strengthening international cooperation. These examples show us that women are not just part of the struggle but are actively leading it. In the process of revolutionary transformation in Rojava and the Middle East, this mobilization of women, the movement of Jineolojî (women's science), and the reality of democratic confederalismhas taken shape around the Kurdish freedom movement and thus revealed the truth to women worldwide. The World Women's Conference in Berlin is a significant step in this direction.
All young women of the world, A new world is possible. The revolution in Kurdistan is a great example that cannot be denied or ignored. It is time to organize ourselves in this path.
- Internationalist Young Women perspective