Elfazi Toral 

 

ISTANBUL - The workshops organized by TJA in the districts of Istanbul within the scope of the "Bi jin jiyan azadiyê ber bi azadiyê ve" campaign gave great morale to women. TJA activists and politicians wanted the workshops to be held frequently and said, "We need to focus on the struggle for freedom and liberate our Leader."

 

Tevgera Jinên Azad (TJA) was declared in Riha (Urfa) on September 15, with the slogan "Bi jin jiyan azadiyê ber bi azadiyê and - Towards freedom with Jin jiyan azadî", and started in Silopiya district of Şirnex on September 20. It started its campaign, which will last 6 months. One of the main aims of the campaign is to ensure the physical freedom of PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan, who has been kept under aggravated isolation on İmralı Island for 25 years. On the other hand, within the scope of the campaign, it is aimed to expand the organized women's struggle against the special war policies, violence against women, massacres and problems implemented by the AKP-MHP government.

 

Message of physical freedom in workshops

 

As part of the campaign, TJA met with women in many cities from Kurdistan to Turkey and organized a series of workshops. In Istanbul, two-day workshops were recently held in Ümraniye, Bağcılar and Esenler districts. Discussions were held in the workshops on the Imrali isolation, special war policies, gender consciousness and male-state violence. The workshops, where solutions to problems were produced simultaneously with both original and mixed workshops, attracted great interest from all segments of society. As a result of strong discussions in the workshops, the message that the struggle will continue uninterruptedly within the scope of ensuring the physical freedom of the PKK Leader was revealed.

 

TJA activist Xeci Başkalane and Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (HEDEP) Zeytinburnu District Co-chair Zeynep Bilgin, who attended the workshop, made evaluations about the campaign to JINNEWS.

 

The campaign boosts women's morale

 

Stating that they started their first campaign in neighborhoods and homes, TJA activist Xeci Başkalane shared that the campaign specifically appeals to women. Expressing that the meetings and workshops were full, Xeci explained the impact of their campaigns with the words, "When we see women, it is good for us in terms of morale and motivation, and it is good for women, too." At the same time, reminding that there has been no news from PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan for 33 months, who has been kept in isolation for 25 years, Xeci said, “There is an isolation on the leadership. At the same time, there is isolation on the Kurdish people and Kurdish women. Isolation policies are getting deeper and deeper on Kurdish mothers and young people."

 

'We need to liberate our leadership!'

 

Stating that they raised awareness with the workshops they organized against the policies of the misogynistic government, Xeci said, “We are carrying out studies in this sense so that women can become even stronger. Women have a lot of fighting spirit in this sense. Therefore, one of our main agendas is the isolation of both women and the Leader. How can we liberate the Leader? How can we ensure his freedom rather than isolation? We need to think about this. If the leadership is free, the Kurdish people will also be free. Not only the Kurdish people, but all peoples will be liberated. We need to liberate our Leader against all dirty war policies."