ŞÎRÎN SALIH

Sulaymaniyah- On January 9, 2013, Sakine Cansız (Sara), Leyla Şaylemez (Ronahî) and Fidan Doğan (Rojbîn) were murdered in Paris by the Turkish state. Today is the 11th anniversary of their death.

Journalist Shay Aram thinks that the struggle of Sakine Cansız had an impact on free journalists. “Sakine Cansız made great efforts to raise awareness among women and we follow in her footsteps. Comrade Sakine Cansız was held in prison for 10 years and she gave hope to other women in prison. We should give hope to women in society as she did,” Shay Aram said.

 ‘The voices of free women will never be silenced’

Noting that Sakine Cansız and her comrades were murdered in France, a country defining itself as a democratic country, Shay Aram said, “Assassinations are always carried out against pioneering women. However, the voices of free women will never be silenced. The Turkish state always targets Kurdish women demanding freedom. The assassination of comrade Sara shows how the Turkish state is afraid of women’s struggle for freedom. Comrade Sara and her comrades always made efforts for the unity of women and the Kurdish people. As women, we should carry on their struggle.”

 ‘We will carry on their struggle’

Journalist Hawar Mohammed also spoke about the massacre that took place in Paris on January 9, 2013 and said, “Sakine Cansız rejected the patriarchal system and believed in the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ philosophy when she was a child. The Turkish state killed Sakine Cansız and her two comrades with the support of other countries. The martyrdom of Sakine Cansız and her two comrades was a great loss for us, Kurds. The Turkish state aimed to scare us by murdering Sakine Cansız and her comrades but it failed; women keep struggling for freedom and follow in the footsteps of Sakine Cansız. As women journalists, we will carry on the struggle of martyr Sakine Cansız and her comrades.”