Afrin Women... History of struggle, resistance of occupier

BASIL RASHID –SALEH IBO /AL_SHAHBA

The Women Revolution which has gained several gains as a result of its organization and its march towards achieving the freedom of society and women, women in Afrin have been known for their fundamental role within Afrin families, so that some families in ancient history were named by women’s names, unlike other Syrian areas, this way has cemented rural character that does not differentiate between men and women to organize women in Afrin, so that women took a privileged position in all military, political, administrative and social domains.

With launching Rojava revolution, women's institutions developed and these organizations entered all homes without exception. Thus, the ranks of women in Afrin formed was the most organized groups of society. But Afrin was the first to enhance the Women's  role in  presidency of the Executive Body of Democratic Autonomous Administration, so that women have taken major role in administration of the society before man.

The democracy and sexual equality embodied in Afrin's Autonomous Administration system has been a model for many international and Arab media outlets that have entered to Afrin over the past seven years.

The Women revolution, the mentality of rape

However, this equality, which may not exist in most countries that claim democracy, including the Turkish occupation state, which approved the acquittal of perpetrators of the crime of rape against minor children, so the Turkish occupation state mobilized its aggression on Afrin from all media, political and military aspects at the beginning of the aggression, it was clear that Turkish occupation's mercenaries would not respect human rights and differentiate between children, men and women The first example of moral degeneration and hatred  against Afrin people is the crime of beating and mutilation of fighter corpse in the Women Protection Units in early February, this systematic incident was not the first of its kind, and the last one was against the women of Afrin who knew the organization and defended the land and the homeland

It seems that the Syrian women in Afrin have not survived the effects of the futile war in the region for more than seven years during which women have suffered in all Syrian areas. During the Turkish aggression on Afrincanton, which lasted 58 days, 56 women and 46 children have been martyred .In addition to 104 were wounded exposed various injuries.

More than 199 women have been kidnapped

After occupied Afrin city by Turkish occupation,the situation is getting worse day by day . The war in Afrin resulted in direct and indirect damage to the status of women. The direct violence such as murder, rape, trafficking of women, disability and abduction was used. This number is increasing day by day, and the indirect violence of widowhood, poverty, unemployment, low educational level, displacement and forced marriage of minors.

Afrin has become a great prison for women

In Afrin the conditions and forms have changed ,and city's streets is witnessing another type of women's fashion is the dress of settlers, which replaced the Kurdish dress folkloric bright colors, There were posters in the squares and streets urging the imposition of the headscarf where women exposed to harassment. In schools, the same approach was followed by the settler teachers against young's women

Marriage of minors forcibly and insulting disability

Day after day the violations of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries against the residents of Afrin are increasing. Even the ignorant and arrogant mind of the mercenaries is religious fanaticism most likely.The story of the girl Yasmine, who is at 12, is one of the hundreds of stories and tragedies that the people of Afrin suffered .The girl was forced to marry a mercenary man is older her more than two decades .And her parents refused to marry her forcibly. the mercenaries took her from the home of her relatives in the Shih district after being threatened with murder if they refused.

Afrin women " Fed Up"

What happened and what is happening to women in Afrin did not like Afrin women. Here the young woman whose name is (R-H) who lives in Afrin city , said: " we fed up , we have been choked by the behavior of mercenaries who are banning Kurdish dress and imposing hijab on us. , Here we must decide we Afrin women come out and challenge the dark mind of the Turkish occupation. "

In a panel of solidarity between Afrin women living inside and displaced women in al-Shahba, Fatima Khalil said: "The Turkish occupying army daily kidnaps and kills dozens of civilians. The actions of the Turkish army stem from the dirty mentality they acquired from their president Erdogan. So Human rights should do something to put an end to these violations, and in her part the citizen Farida Hamo denounced practices and violations of the Turkish occupation army against women in Afrin, and demanded women to revolt in the face of Turkish occupation."

"Whoever does not accept our nature, let him go out of Ephrin"

Afrin women who have tasted the freedom before the occupation, did not remain silent under the occupation. Many women were beaten and humiliated as a result of their stand against the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation and trying to prevent them from arresting their children and stealing their property. One of them whose name is (S-M), was one of those who revolt against the occupation and prevented mercenaries from abducting her son on charges of joining the Self-Defense Forces , And this mother live in a village of sherawa and  she had known among the people of the village with strength and directed the people of the village to join hands together in the face of the occupation

There are other examples of the struggle of women in Afrin under the occupation. The most prominent of these are the women's demonstrations that took place in Janders a month ago as a result of the arrest of the mercenaries in the underground neighborhood. The women revolt for two consecutive days against the occupation and its mercenaries without fear or hesitation.

Citizen lives in Afrin said "  "We are women of Afrin should be our nature, so today we try to organize our ranks in Afrin to reject the decisions imposed on us, and went out to the streets on our nature," and follow boldly "who does not accept our nature, come out of Afrin," in reference to the settlers and occupation.

In Afrin city unfold many billboards urging to wearing of hijab, and not going out in the ordinary and contemporary clothes of the streets, and here Afrin city has settled black as a result of roaming the women's settlement who are wearing niqab and Jalbab (Sharia clothes), but one of the nights was exposed some of these propaganda posters described by observers to break and destruction, Is a clear indication of the rejection of the indigenous Afrin people for such extraneous practices.

Activities in support of Resistance of the Age

In support of peace and freedom and the liberation of Afrin, the women of Afrin displaced  al-Shahba canton organized a series of activities to denounce the occupation and support women activists in Afrin. Women expressed their pride in their continuous struggle against occupation and exclusionary ideology against women. And stressed the oppressors in the path of resistance and the martyrs to liberate Afrin from the occupation.

(T/S)

ANHA