News Center- The Kurdistan Women's Liberation Party (PAJK) Council member Rotinda Amed spoke to NuJINHA about the leap of 15 August (the start of guerrilla insurgency on 15 August 15, 1984.  Drawing attention to the women’s struggle in history, she said that women have resisted and achieved great gains until now. Speaking about the leap of 15 August, she evaluated the leap step by step.
*First of all, could you talk about the uprisings and revolts by the Kurdish people until August 15? How did they resist?
I celebrate the 38th anniversary of the leap of August 15, our national resurrection day, of leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan), all freedom fighters and our people. I commemorate commander Egit, who prepared the way for the historic 15 August action and guerrilla insurgency, all our martyrs of the struggle with respect and gratitude in the person of Erdal and Xelat comrates, Zeki Şengali, Atakan Mahir, Tekoşin Dersim (Ruhal Akyıldız), Nucan (Cennet Dirlik), Jin Rojhılat, Deniz Fırat, Ekin Van, Tolhıldan Raman, who were martyred in August. I respectfully commemorate our comrades who were martyred by fighting in Zap, Avaşin and Metina with a great spirit of sacrifice by following the footsteps of the martyrs of August 15, and I celebrate the leap of August 15 of our comrades, who are still fighting.
“There has always been a resistance against the patriarchal mentality”
In his sociological analyses, leader Apo has determined that women’s issues are the roots of social problems caused by classes, powers and states. He reveals that the system of exploitation cannot develop without problematizing the reality of women. In this respect, women have reasons to struggle against this five-thousand-year-old civilization, as a sex, class, and nation. This situation leads them to participate in social struggle against the system. In Mesopotamia, where the Neolithic revolution began, which is considered as the most important development in human history- women’s leadership in it cannot be ignored- there has always been a great resistance against the patriarchal mentality and practices.
“Uprisings are of value in the struggle for existence"
In the history of Kurdistan, the Kurdish uprisings against the Ottoman and Iranian Empires in the 19th century and against the sovereign states in Bakur (Northern Kurdistan), Bashur (Southern Kurdistan) and Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) in the 20th century are of value in the Kurdish struggle for existence. But unfortunately; national liberation and freedom could not be achieved, the desired result could not be achieved due to poor organization and internal betrayals. Women leading the uprisings became prominent with their participation in these struggles.
“Women played an important role in history”
Many women such as Edîle Xatun, Hefsêxan Neqip, Qedem Xer, Hatû Şanaz, Mina Qazi, Rewşen Bedirxan, Leyla Qasım, who was a young student; Zarife in Koçgiri, Mother Gülnaz in Agiri, Bese in Dersim played an important role in history. These patriotic and pioneer women played an important role by organizing the public, raising women’s awareness through associations and union and participating in armed struggle. One of the actions carried out by women was to kill themselves by jumping off a cliff in order not to be taken captive by the enemy. Actually, they preferred resistance rather than surrender. However, the revealed honorable stances and self-sacrifice were insufficient to achieve their freedom. There was no unity in uprisings and the people did not have a leader and national consciousness caused the failure of these uprisings. The revolutionary start of the PKK was vital and meaningful for the Kurdish people.
*Could you talk a little bit about the conditions and conditions in the 20th century, when the leap of August 15 took place? How did women take part in the national struggle? How were women before August 15 and after it? Which steps led to August 15?
The efforts to empower both the capitalist powers in the system and the fascist regimes that emerged in local sovereign states and the results of the practice of real socialism led to the search for organization at different levels. The 1970s were the years when the struggles for freedom developed and human values such as democracy and the right of nations to self-determination were on the agenda. For the Kurdish people, these years mean oppression, torture, persecution and massacres. In the last quarter of the 20th century- after the suppression of the uprisings against the attacks of denial and annihilation- a nation was about to disappear from history. While all people, including women, young people, nations and faith societies were uprising, the people in Turkey faced oppressions. During the 1971 Turkish military memorandum, the revolutionary organizations were attacked, the left socialist leaders were attacked. In such a process, our struggle for freedom led by leader Apo revealed. With the 1980 Turkish coup d'état, all people faced the terror of the state and the state aimed to end the newly forming and fearful Apoist Movement and all revolutionary dynamics. Many important members of the Apoist Movement were arrested at that time.
“The resistance of comrade Sara became a byword”

'We will not allow this fire of rebellion to die’ said the leading members of the Apoist Movement, who were held in the Amed prison. They resisted in the prison and paid heavy price in the prison so that they did not allow the fire of rebellion to die. The resistance of many comrades such as Mazlum Doğan, Hayri Durmuş, Kemal Pir and Sara became a byword. Her resistance was a slap in the face of the fascist regime. The PKK’s belief in the liberation of life and the comradeship of this path showed the enemy that this rebellion would not end. The people resisting in Amed prison determined the path of the struggle. This resistance determined our next struggle for freedom.
* What is the meaning of the leap of August 15 for the Kurdish people and women?
The leap of August 15 is a great step for the Kurdish people and women to say no to genocidal, denial attacks against their culture, language and identity. Now, they have a leader fighting for their freedom. With the leap of August 15, the guerrilla insurgency started because there was no way other than resisting to have a justly life. For the leader (Abdullah Öcalan), the guerrillaism is not just a military structure; it is essentially a way of life.
“Revolutionary women joined the struggle for freedom”
Many women began to join our movement. Sakine Cansız was one of the first women joining the movement. The resistance and ideology for freedom of Sara encouraged thousands of women to join the struggle for freedom. Joining the guerrilla struggle is a milestone for Kurdish women. Excluding women from the struggle for freedom would have been a repetition of historical mistakes. In this respect, the leap of August 15 means the transformation of organization and action to a different stage. However, the struggle became a struggle against the genocidal policies of the fascism of the Turkish state within NATO. Joining the Apoist Movement meant to say no to the denial and annihilation policies of the Turkish state against the Kurdish people. This movement gave opportunity to the women, who faced the deepest state of slavery, to hold on to life and give meaning to it.

“Women break grounds”

Since the beginning, there have been women in the movement and their struggle against all kinds of difficulties became legends among the people. These legends were told across Kurdistan and had a great impact on the people, particularly on women. As the women’s participation in the movement increased, many women began to play important roles in the movement.
What kind of balance and difference is there between the national struggle and the women's struggle for freedom?  
Without one, the other will remain incomplete. The ideology of the PKK says “Kurdistan is a colony” and this sentence sums up the answer to this question. In a colonial country, your language, culture, identity and existence are ignored. You face all kinds of oppressions and pressures. Ignoring language, culture and identity is ignoring women. In other words, our movement revealed in its first founding manifesto that just national struggle would not be enough to defeat this genocidal colony. “Even if they give me a Kurdistan where there is even an unliberated woman, I will not want it,” says one of the sentences of leader Apo. In his sentence, he means that the only concrete indicator of the freedom of any society is the way women live there and the rate of women participating in it with their own identity and personality.
“We must protect our achievements more”
Consequently, the liberation of society is impossible without the liberation of women. In order to create this awareness, women must work harder, make more efforts, not be discouraged, and embrace the achievements of our history. The leap of August 15 is not only a bullet fired to build national consciousness but also a symbol of revolt and the beginning of resistance against female slavery. The movement of the PKK has overcome the classical left understanding. Everyone, who is determined in achieving freedom, can find a space in the PKK because the PKK is the struggle for freedom of everyone.
Tomorrow: “Every vulnerable woman is subject to male violence”