Yazidi Women’s Union commemorates the martyrs of Shengal Massacre

The Yazidi Women’s Union in Rojava organized a large meeting in the city of Amuda in al-Jazira region to mark the anniversary of the Shengal massacre, which was carried out by ISIS mercenaries against the Yazidi community on August 3, 2014.

The meeting was held in the hall of the Democratic Union Party, with wide participation from union members and representatives of women’s organizations and movements, alongside members of civil society institutions.

The event began with a moment of silence honoring the souls of the martyrs, followed by a documentary screening detailing the massacre and the forced displacement of Yazidis. The documentary also documented the heroic resistance led by the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), based on multiple media archives.

In her speech, Hadiya Shamo, an administrator in the Yazidi Women’s Union, said: “Yazidi villages were burned, but the people of Rojava stood by the people of Shengal in many ways.”

She added that the attack aimed to annihilate the Kurdish people, noting that the Yazidi community faced forced displacement multiple times from Sinjar, Afrin, and Shehba.

Hadiya Shamo emphasized the importance of the philosophy of leader Abdullah Ocalan, stating: “Thanks to the leader’s philosophy on women and freedom, we have been able to rise. Women are half of society and raise the other half; they are capable of building a comprehensive democratic system.”

Meanwhile, Netwey Gekmin, an administrator in the Women’s Council of the Democratic Union Party, said the Sinjar massacre was a direct attack on Kurdish history and free women, affirming that popular will and heroic resistance defeated ISIS and established a self-administration and their own system.

Gekmin concluded by stressing that the resistance continues, saying: “We continue organizing and struggling, pledging to our martyrs to carry on the path of the Democratic Nation philosophy, awaiting the leader’s freedom among us to establish a democratic system that guarantees peace for all.”

The meeting ended with chants from participants: “Martyrs are immortal,” “No life without the leader,” “Women, Life, Freedom.”

ANHA