Raqqa-Various activities were held by the Kurdish people on April 4 to celebrate the 74th birthday of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. April 4 also marks the 10th of the foundation of the Women's Defense Units (Kurdish: Yekineyên Parastina Jin, YPJ), an all-women military force founded on April 4, 2013 in North and East Syria. NuJINHA spoke to two of the YPJ fighters about the 74th birthday of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and the 10th anniversary of the YPJ.

‘We will no longer allow our will to be taken away from us’

At the beginning of her speech, YPJ fighter Zozan Brûsk indicates that as the YPJ, their resistance is based on the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (English: Women, Life, Freedom)” philosophy of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan aiming ensure freedom for everyone. “Today, women are killed everywhere. This shows us how the protection of women is important. Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) has been fighting for women's freedom for years by developing a philosophy of a life of freedom for women. We, as women, must build ourselves with courage and strength. We will no longer allow anyone to take our will away from us. Today, the Turkmens in North and East Syria also join the YPJ thanks to the philosophy of leader Apo,” Zozan Brûsk told us.

‘We want to preserve their legacy’

Another YPJ fighter, Hêwler Hêvi thinks that struggle and resistance bring great power with themselves. She said, “Since the foundation of the YPJ, many of our precious fighters and commanders such as Arîn Mîrkan,  Rêvan Kobanê, Avêsta Xabûr, Roj Xabûr, Jiyan Tolhildan and Sosin Birhat have been martyred. We have achieved many victories until now thanks to them and we want to preserve their legacy.” Hêwler Hêvi also drew attention to the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi uprising that has been going on in Iran and Rojhilat for seven months, saying, “The uprising that started in Iran and Rojhilat following the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini is led by women and this is very important.”

Support to the protests in Iran

Hêwler Hevi concluded her speech, saying, “The Jina Mahsa Amini uprising is led by women. As leader Apo says, ‘the 21st century will be the century of women’. We believe that the uprising in Rojhilat will be a symbol of perspective and freedom for women all over the world. As YPJ, we may not be with them physically, but we are always with them because we struggle for the same thing. Their demands and our demands are the same. We get strength from the resistance exhibited by women all over the world.”