URFA - Member of the Women's Economic Committee, Armanc Mihemed, who stated that there was a revolution not only in the military but also in the political and economic fields in Northern and Eastern Syria, said that the system they created was examined worldwide and said: "Our aim is a world where women rule themselves."

 

The resistance initiated by the Kurds in the Syrian civil war against groups such as ISIS and Al Qaeda, as well as the Bashar Assad regime on July 19, 2012, turned into the "Rojava Revolution" in which the peoples determine their own destiny in Kobanê. As the revolution, which had great repercussions in the Middle East and the world, entered its 9th year, a "third way" policy was developed despite the political and economic embargo imposed on the region for years.

  

The strongest pillar of this alternative life model that challenges the world was the new construction led by women against the capitalist masculine system. Women who produce alternative models against single-centred systems established the Women's Economy Committee in 2015 to strengthen their presence in the field of employment, from which they were completely excluded during the regime. The committee formed under Kongra Star, the umbrella organization of women in the region, organized cooperatives and communes in all regions of Northern and Eastern Syria. Among the founders of the committee was Hevrîn Xelef, who was murdered by paramilitary groups affiliated to Turkey on October 9, 2019.

 

23 WOMEN'S COOPERATIVES

 

There are 23 women's cooperatives established by women in Northern and Eastern Syria. The number of members of the cooperatives varies between 10 and 75 and the incomes are shared equally among the members. While agriculture is the area where they are most organized, women meet a significant part of the production on 12 thousand decares of land. There are dozens of market areas, 3 bakeries and 5 floor furnaces opened by the Women's Economy Committee in order to deliver the production directly to the consumer in a cheap and healthy way. In addition, the committee has projects such as textile workshops, furniture factory and school canteens. The aim of the committee is to increase the number of floor furnaces and bakeries by establishing cooperatives with at least 3 members in each village.

 

Armanc Mihemed, member of the Northern and Eastern Syria Women's Economic Committee, evaluated the current situation and their contemporary projects to the Mesopotamia Agency (MA).

 

WOMEN WERE EXCLUDED FROM ECONOMY

 

Stating that agriculture and economy were molded by the hands of women 5,000 years ago, but it was taken away from them with the development of states, Mihemed said, “Men removed the women from being active in economy and confined them into their homes. Before the Rojava Revolution, women were imprisoned at home in Northern and Eastern Syria. Women were seen as slaves by the BAAS regime. Women were made unable to leave the house. With the revolution, women began to take part in all areas of life.

 

WOMEN STARTED TO COME FORWARD BEING ACTIVE IN ECONOMY

 

Reminding that women took their places in committees such as military, politics, economy, culture, art and academics with the revolution, Mihemed said that women came to the forefront in the economy. Emphasizing that they brought to light the skills of women that were taken away from them 5,000 years ago, Mihemed said, “Even though women have gone through difficult times, they have come to the fore again when it comes to labor, culture, agriculture, production and skills. Women were able to find a place for themselves in every field within the Autonomous Administration and they realized all their projects with the idea of ​​democratic modernity. The Rojava Revolution is as much a women's economic revolution as it is a women's military revolution. Women took their place both in the military and in the economy. Women took part in 9 committees established with the Revolution. They organized themselves mostly in the field of agriculture for an independent, free economy. They have made long efforts to create their own economy. We are trying to rebuild the labor that was taken away from women years ago. In doing so, we attach the greatest importance to establishing women's cooperatives.”

 

ÖCALAN'S IDEAS

 

Noting that the Women's Economy Committee, established in 2015, is important in this context, Mihemed added that women's cooperatives are among the organizations that PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan attaches importance to in terms of economy. Mentioning that women came together and formed cooperatives within the framework of Öcalan's ideas, Mihemed said, “When we formed the first cooperatives, we had some difficulties, women were distant to the idea. However, we supported them in every field and women started to gain strength from each other. Now they can establish cooperatives on their own.” 

 

WOMEN'S GAINS ARE BEING TARGETED

 

Stating that they have a series of projects ahead of them, Mihemmed said: "We want to establish 9 new cooperatives and 8 new bakeries in the field of agriculture. Dozens of women will be employed in cooperatives. We will increase the number of greenhouses and increase the number of factories where women work. We had cooperatives in Serêkaniyê, Girê Spî and Afrin, hundreds of women were working. We had 43 thousand decares of agricultural land only in Serêkanîye and 30 thousand decares in Girêspi. The attacks of Turkey and the gangs it supports were also an attack on women's gains. We are trying to help women who migrated from Serêkaniyê, Girêspi and Afrin economically. As a committee, we stand by all women, regardless of race, language or religion.”

 

A WORLD RULED BY WOMEN 

 

Emphasizing that the gains in Northern and Eastern Syria are the achievements of all women, Mihemed said, “People coming from outside Northern and Eastern Syria are stunned when they observe the gains of women from the ground up. They ask how we achieved this, the stages of establishing cooperatives, and how many women these projects were done with. Recently, these projects were photographed and examined. They said that they would put them into practice in the countries they went to. This is a win for us. This gain is not only ours, but also the gain of all women who fought back and resist.”

 

Mihemed continued: “We carried out a women's revolution in Northern and Eastern Syria, but thousands of women are still seen as slaves in the Middle East. Our aim is for all women to create their own independent, free economy. All women should have their economic freedom. Our aim is a world where women rule themselves.”

 

 

MA / Emrullah Acar