SORGUL ŞÊXO

Qamishlo- In North and East Syria, women have written a history by struggling against the Baathist regime for years and then by fighting ISIS. Being a role model after the revolution in Rojava, also known as Women’s Revolution, they have founded many women’s organizations under the umbrella of Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria to fight gender-based violence and to defend women’s rights. The Committee of Women’s Voice (Kurdish: Komîteya Dengê Jin) is one of these women’s organizations. The committee is one of the committees of the Women’s Council in North and East Syria. NuJINHA spoke to Evîn Paşo, head of the Women’s Council in the Cizîrê Region, about the activities of the committee.

 

Noting that women began to organize themselves since the first day of the revolution, Evîn Paşo said, “Women have established many organizations to protect and secure their gains achieved after the revolution. They have established departments, associations, assemblies, bureaus and committees. The aim of these organizations is to build gender equality. In 2019, we took a new step to end gender-based violence and femicide; we established the Committee of Women’s Voice in order to unite women’s organizations and provide legal support to women. The committee works in cooperation with other women’s organizations such as Kongra Star, Sara Organization, Syriac Women's Union (SWU), Women's Justice Council, Women's Internal Security Forces of North and East Syria, Arab National Committee and Center for Research and Protection of Women’s Rights. These organizations work in cooperation with each other to provide legal support to women.”

They make efforts to ensure that the perpetrators are punished

Pointing out that there are attempts to cover up the crimes committed against women, Evîn Paşo thinks the Committee of Women’s Voice makes efforts so that the perpetrators receive the punishment that they deserve. “Women are killed, beaten and tortured. This committee plays an important role in opening murder cases against the perpetrators. Our aim is to advocate women’s rights. Women should not feel that they are alone. This committee should be seen as a gain of the revolution. Thanks to this committee, women come together to discuss and find solutions to their problems.”

‘We will continue to be the voices of women’

“The committee and other women’s organizations document violence against women cases and release a report every three months. The aim of this documentation is to find the reasons for gender-based violence and solutions to end gender-based violence," she said, "Women have taken an important step to prevent violence against women. We will continue to be the voices of women. This committee will continue to provide support to women who are subjected to violence.”