My dear women comrades…
For me, the freedom of women is more important than land and culture. A woman must be a freedom fighter. You must liberate yourselves. Nothing has affected me, both with sorrow and anger, and elation and enthusiasm, as much as the story of women’s slavery and woman’s freedom.
Women must take their own decisions. They must have their own free spaces, places they can determine their lives. Make the search for freedom the basis of your work; Don’t complain, be creative. When 3 or 4 women come together to produce a solution, trust your femininity.
For, a peoples cannot be free if the women are not free. A revolution is not a revolution if it cannot liberate women. An organisation that cannot organise women is not an organisation.
Your place is not just your homes. You should be everywhere. You must have a say. Women should speak everywhere. If it hadn’t been for the women’s freedom struggle, women would have continued to live as slaves. The heroines who have been martyred were all precious. I commemorate them all with respect. Sakine’s life is an example. Women’s liberation is Sakine’s struggle. You must uncover what happened to Sakine.
The history of women’s enslavement is of course concealed in the culture of the Middle East. For this reason, its departure will be in these lands, but it is clear it won’t happen in a masculine way. Nothing has affected me, both with sorrow and anger, and elation and enthusiasm, as much as the story of women’s slavery and freedom. It seems to me that the fundamental error made in social life is that falsity and ugliness are evaluated regarding women and life is taken away.
The main reason for this is the culture of capitalism. In no historical period have women been as exploited and used in serving the system as much as in capitalism. Consequently, in the liberation of women, self-defence must be a fundamental tenet of life. You will internalise this.
These deaths are worse than war. They take young girls as wives. Then when they rape them and they die, they treat them like an animal carcase. Another of the biggest problems for women is unemployment. They have removed women from the economy. Women must find their place in society. They are in the vanguard of social change and must establish economic communes.
Women must take their own decisions. They must have their own free spaces, places they can determine your lives. Make the search for freedom the basis of your work. Don’t complain, be creative. When 3 or 4 women come together to produce a solution, trust your femininity.
Be positive, make effort and believe in yourselves. It is important that there be women-based work. Women have a unique quality. It is only in this way that women can free themselves from 5,000 years of enslavement. You will determine life socially and aesthetically. You will construct economic life, social life and aesthetic life. And in this way, you will sort out us savage men.
The question of women is a class, cultural and economic question, The women’s question is also a political question. You will embrace politics and establish the co-chair system everywhere. This is a universal system. It is egalitarian. You can revitalise yourselves. Combine this with the principle of freedom.
You must impose women’s freedom and identity. The best woman is one who works to become free. The most beautiful woman is one who lives an independent life. Nothing is more odious and contemptible than the partnership of an enslaved woman with a domineering man. And no union is more precious and true than that of a free woman and a man who has overcome tyranny.
A huge freedom revolution is the sine qua non of a meaningful life”. “Therefore, the revolution in the Middle East must be developed as a revolution for women’s freedom. Equality and freedom will be ensured by means of the women’s question. Our revolution is a women’s revolution. We will transcend the enslavement of women. Our revolution is not merely a class one, it is one where women are in the vanguard. We are only half way along the road. But let us not forget that what is important is not the end of the road, but walking, running along the road with enthusiasm and a collective joy and beauty.
While commemorating those symbols of our freedom struggle, Sakine Cansız, Leyla Şaylemez and Fidan Doğan, I want to stress that we will definitely call this brutal massacre to account. We will dedicate this peace and democratic resolution to all our freedom martyrs, in their names. I will continue to do my utmost to contribute and to demonstrate my loyalty to our martyrs.
We have more to say for women. In this way, I greet and embrace all comrades and friends, wish them all success and celebrate 8 March International Women’s Day”
- Abdullah Ocalan
