Women guerrillas are not only discussing but also evaluating their roles and responsibilities in the process.
Forty-seven years have passed since the manifesto titled “The Path of the Kurdistan Revolution”, which was presented at the first congress of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and served as the first manifesto of the Kurdish Freedom Movement.
Forty-seven years later, women guerrillas who have received the full version of the Peace and Democratic Society Manifesto, the introduction of which was submitted to the PKK’s 12th Congress, continue to discuss the topics addressed in the manifesto.
Evrim Tolhildan, a guerrilla of the Kurdish Freedom Movement, shared with ANF the excitement she and her comrades felt upon receiving the manifesto and the video of President Öcalan published on July 9, as well as the discussions held around the manifesto.
There was hope for success in the eyes of our President
Guerrilla fighter Evrim began her remarks by expressing the deep excitement they felt upon watching the video of President Öcalan and continued: “Many comrades immediately wanted to write those moments down in their diaries. When we looked at our President, into his eyes, there was an immense hope, a hope for success.”
We could not sit still while reading the manifesto
Guerrilla Evrim shared the emotions she and her comrades experienced regarding the manifesto that President Öcalan presented as a roadmap for the current process: “When we read the manifesto, we could not sit still. We wanted to understand our President and every word he used, accurately. Just as our President described in the manifesto, we read and discussed it collectively, as a commune. What I observed was that every comrade’s face, the light in their eyes, was glowing in a different way.”
I felt that our President was describing me in the manifesto
“Reading the manifesto, one sees oneself in it,” said guerrilla Evrim, and continued: “As a woman, I said to myself, ‘Our President is describing me or the universe.’ Because our President addressed everything and everyone. He presented solutions to society’s problems.”
If I had lived in that society, I too would have been an Özgecan, a Rojin, or a Narin
Guerrilla Evrim explained that President Öcalan, in the manifesto, emphasized the organization of society by drawing on the metaphor of the organization of cells. She expressed the importance of collective organization to prevent the murder of women and children: “If Rojin had been part of an organized structure, she would not have been murdered; if Narin had grown up in an organized environment, she would not have been murdered. If I had lived in that society, I too would have been an Özgecan, a Rojin, or a Narin. To prevent more Özgecans, Rojins, and Narins, women must be organized.”
All women should read the manifesto and see themselves in it
Women guerrillas are not only discussing the Peace and Democratic Society Manifesto; they are also putting forward concrete proposals and asserting their own claims. In their communal discussions, they evaluate the responsibilities the manifesto assigns to women and explore what women can do in this process.
Guerrilla Evrim stated that the manifesto will continue to grow in strength and impact even as years pass. She emphasized that it is a manifesto for all of humanity, especially for women and added: “All women should read the manifesto section by section, word by word, and see themselves in it. The most flowing, dynamic energy exists in women. For that reason, the one who will lead the manifesto is the woman herself. To read the manifesto as a woman, to engage with it deeply, and to put it into practice is a duty for each and every one of us.”
Finally, expressing her belief in President Öcalan and in the paradigm he has put forward, guerrilla Evrim concluded her words with the following words: “We believe in our President and in his ideas. That is why we believe that success will be ours
