CENTRAL NEWS
Today marks the second year since Atakan Mahir, a commander and true socialist, was martyred in the Dersim countryside on August 11, 2018. Commemorating Martyr Atakan Mahir on this day requires an insight into his personality, it demands a look through his window to life.
Below is a small piece of that window:
“Man hasn’t been brought up in a free environment in our society, and so his personality is unstable and weak – what is reflected in his struggle for freedom, which he doesn’t regard as his main goal.
In addition he uses the concept of freedom as a disguise, rather than as a culture which is reflected throughout the practices of his everyday life. When, among ourselves, we debate how far masculinity dominates our personalities, we decide that if we can’t practice [masculinity] in our tasks within the liberation movement, then we must find other ways elsewhere to practice it. This shows how male sovereignty both embarrasses men, and yet always offers them a safe haven.
Every man who claims to respect women still has some point where he puts limits on them. This is because of how deeply rooted male dominance is as a culture in his personality, stopping him from really being able to follow through on his claims.
Men define both genders as opponents of each other, and regard women simply as someone who isn’t a male. Likewise, a man is someone who is not female. In this state of antagonism both genders eliminate rather than complement each other. It means that constructing personal identity for one gender has consequences, even causing damage in the other’s personal identity.
It’s known that the male personal identity has been shaped over a long time, and so prevails in such conflict. But men are unable to establish deep fellowship and comradeship among themselves. They neither reveal their sufferings nor they are open towards each other. They always put limits among themselves.
Moreover, men often identify themselves with physical strength. Is it a demonstration of strength to show how they fulfill all tasks and bear heavy burdens? To show how potent they are in sexual relationships? Thinking this way means that they always need to prove themselves in front of someone.”
This article was translated by ANF News Agency
