Women’s conference on rights, protection, integration kicks off

Kongra Star organized a conference at the Qamishlo Hall in Azadi Park under the slogan “Together to Guarantee Women’s Rights in the Syrian Constitution.”

Participants included members of the Kongra Star coordination, women leaders from the Women’s Protection Units, the Women’s Council of the Democratic Union Party, women coordinators in the Autonomous Administration, representatives of the Women’s Council of the Martyrs’ Families Council, the Council of Religions and Beliefs, the Zenobia Women’s Gathering, the Arab National Authority, the Syriac Women’s Council, the Kurdish National Council in Syria, the Armenian Women’s Council, the Democratic Society Movement, the Syriac Women’s Union, Women’s Asayish, the Yazidi Women’s Union, the Armenian Women’s Council, and representatives of women from political parties in Rojava.

The conference began with a minute of silence, after which Kongra Star spokesperson Reyhan Loqo delivered a speech welcoming the participants and commemorating the martyrs Deniz Çiya and the fighters who sacrificed their lives for freedom, stressing the continuation of the struggle for women’s liberation. She said, “The historic struggle that began with Rosa and Sakine is a continuation of the women’s path of resistance for freedom.”

She stressed the need to confront the patriarchal mentality and not retreat from women’s demands, noting: “We have achieved progress in political, legal, social, military, and cultural fields. We have built our organizations, implemented the co-chair system, and strengthened women’s representation in this region.”

She affirmed that preserving the achievements of the revolution depends on activating women’s voices and ensuring their active participation in society.

She also pointed out that any model that does not take into account linguistic presence and women’s participation cannot be considered a model to be followed.

She concluded by saying that the meeting aims to raise the voice of freedom and ensure the continuation of women’s struggle, stressing the responsibility of all to protect women’s rights and honor the sacrifices of the martyrs, adding: “Syria is changing today, and we must ensure that women’s rights are protected within it.”

After that, Roken Ahmed, a member of the Democratic Relations and Agreements Committee of Kongra Star, moderated the conference, which will be held in two sessions and will include discussions and seminars on four main themes: politics, law, protection, and integration.

It is expected that Janda Mohammed, Deputy Co-Chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, will lead the political axis of the first session, while Georgette Barsoum, head of the Syriac Women’s Union, will moderate the legal axis.

In the second session, the protection axis will be led by Sarya Afrin, a commander in the Women’s Protection Units, while Fawza Yusuf, member of the Presidential Body of the Democratic Union Party, will moderate a dialogue seminar on the topic of integration.

Following the discussions and seminars, the conference is expected to conclude with the issuance of a final statement.

A-H 

ANHA