RONAHÎ NÛDA

Qamishlo- On October 4, 2022, Nagihan Akarsel,Kurdish journalist, academic and women’s rights defender and member of Jineology Academy, was assassinated when leaving her home in Sulaymaniyah, Southern Kurdistan-Iraq. In an interview with NuJINHA, Jineology Academy member Zozan Sîma talked about her colleague and comrade Nagihan Akarsel.

‘She achieved her quest by studying jineology’

Zozan Sîma told us that Nagihan Akarsel had been involved not only in the works for jineology but also in many activities of the Kurdish Women's Freedom Movement. “She struggled for her people, her cause and women’s freedom. Comrade Nagihan was born in Konya to a family in exile. The impact of living in exile is clearly seen in her poems, articles and diary. She was always in quest of her roots and she achieved her quest by studying jineology,” said Zozan Sîma.

‘As a Kurdish woman, she wanted to discover her reality’

Nagihan Akarsel studied journalism at Gazi University in Ankara. She became involved in the activities of the Youth Council of Kurdistan (YCK) at university. Zozan Sîma continued to talk about the life of Nagihan Akarsel, saying, “As a Kurdish woman, she wanted to discover her reality. Nagihan Akarsel used to say, 'People who have a meaningful and emotional life are the most valuable people.’ I can say that Nagihan was one of the comrades, who had a meaningful and emotional life.”

‘She had a strong will’

Zozan Sîma also talked about how Nagihan Akarsel was a strong woman. “She was known for her quest, persistence, determination and most importantly, her resistance and unending struggle. She was very persistent and excited. Before being martyred, she worked in the archives of the Kurdish Women’s Library. Nagihan Akarsel was determined, had dreams and a strong will. She was a member of the Jineology Academy from 2015 to 2022 until she was assassinated. She was a writer and editorial board member of Jineoloji Magazine. She took part in the construction of Jinwar (Women’s Village) and the research work in Shengal (Sinjar). She carried out work in Afrin and founded research centers in North and East Syria. In addition, she raised awareness about women’s rights and freedom. The words she used the most were emotion and meaning. She was also a good friend and comrade.”

‘Women who lead revolutions are targeted’

Emphasizing that Nagihan Akaersel was targeted and assassinated by the Turkish state, Zozan Sîma said, “The Kurdistan Freedom Movement developed with the struggle of women. Women lead revolutions in Kurdistan, in the Middle East and all around the world. Women who lead revolutions are targeted. Many pioneering women such as Hevrin Halef, Zeyneb Saroxan and Zeyneb Berkelan were targeted and killed and the attacks on pioneering women still continue. The Turkish state targets women because it knows that women lead the Kurdish Freedom Movement.”

‘ISIS was defeated by women’

Mentioning the support of the Turkish state to ISIS, Zozan Sîma said, “The world's most brutal men were defeated by the world's most beautiful women. The Turkish state wants to take revenge because ISIS was defeated by women. The silence of the international community and the Kurdistan Regional government paves the way for the Turkish state to keep attacking women. This silence poses a threat to freedom fighters. If we do not prevent these attacks, the gains achieved by women will be targeted again.”

‘We have launched an initiative’

Speaking about the International Initiative Justice for Nagihan Akarsel, she said, “The United Nations (UN), the Council of Europe and the Iraqi government are a party to this crime. The attack against Nagihan Akarsel was an attack on all people struggling for freedom, the Kurdish people, all people in the Middle East and women’s struggle for freedom. We call on all human rights defenders to support the initiative to reveal the killing of Nagihan Akarsel. As an initiative, we demand justice for Nagihan and all women targeted by the Turkish state. We will grow our struggle for the prosecution of the Turkish state for its crimes against women. We will bring the killers of Nagihan Akarsel and other women to account. We demand justice for Nagihan Akarsel and all women. We call on our people to support this cause.”