feature

09:50

They dream of returning to Afrin and getting their olive trees back Women, who had been forcibly displaced from Afrin to Aleppo, dream of returning to Afrin and getting their olive trees back one day. ”We had a communal life. We would give olives to the families who didn’t have olive groves.”

08:00

Olive trees are sacred in every religion The olive tree has been considered sacred for centuries. It has been protected everywhere as a treasure. Afrin is one of these places. In the city, the olive trees are like "prisoners of war". In this article series, we try to explain how the olives of Afrin have been exported and sold to other countries under Turkish brands and what the people of Afrin have faced. In the first article, we spoke to Silava Ealo, a biologist at the University of Aleppo, about the characteristics of the olive tree, the benefits of olives, and products made from olives.

09:07

Students: Our future is in our own universities Most students prefer Rojava University to study in Kurdish and they want to teach what they have learned to next generations, “Our future is in our university."

09:48

Rohan Mistefa: Students are educated with a perspective respecting democracy, ecology, and women’s freedom

11:27

Great interest in Faculty of Jineology There are four universities in NE Syria, first was founded in Afrin. These universities have many faculties such as Kurdish Literature, Economics, Engineering and Jineology. The new departments are opened in the universities according to the demands of the students. The universities are ready to welcome students for the academic year 2021-2022

09:07

Aslîka Qadir keeps singing her songs Dengbêj Aslîka Qadir, best-known for her song “Welatê Me Kurdistan e”, dedicates her life to Kurdish art and culture. She still takes the stage and sings her songs with a strong voice.

08:40

Zadîna Şakir: The base of Kurdish culture Zadîna Şakir, who dedicated her life to Kurdish art and culture, composed and sang many songs.

09:05

Fatma İsa: The dengbêj of all time The songs of dengbêjan (plural of dengbej) have been listened to for years. The songs of Fatma İsa are among them.

09:24

Sûsika Simo: A Dengbêj without borders Sûsika Simo was a female dengbêj, whose Kurdish and Armenian songs were listened to in many countries through Radio Yerevan.

08:35

Their voices listened by generations Touching voices of female dengbêjan (plural of dengbej) generate songs and tell stories. Their voices could be heard in Diyarbakır, Urmia, Duhok, and Qamishlo from Radio Yerevan. Fatma İsa, Susika Simo, Sisa Mecid, Zadina Şakir and Aslika Qadir were among female dengbêjan, who made their voices heard through Radio Yerevan. They brought the Kurdish culture and life to the future with their voices. Female dengbêjan (storytellers), proving the existence of women in every field of art and life, play an important role for Kurdish women to gain status and rights today. We prepare a five-day article series about female dengbêjan from past to today.

08:16

Nermin Sharif: I keep struggling despite all the pressures Three assassination attempts were carried out against her, she was detained many times, her passport was confiscated, she was marginalized, false information was shared about her, but she never gives up her struggle for workers. “Despite all the pressures, I am the one who succeeds,” says Nermin Sharif, the president of the Libyan General Federation of Trade Unions. Nermin Sharif has carried important works on the trade union struggle of women in Libya. She gives good news; the Libyan women workers are going to form the Female Workers’ Network.

13:11

Struggle for trade unions from past to today While the struggle for unions differs from country to country, this struggle continues in Libya, where strikes have been banned since 1972, despite all pressures. The activities of trade unions are seen as a danger in non-democratic countries, the collective bargaining process in Muslim countries also differs from each other. In our two-day article series, we will share information about the activities of trade unions in Libya and women’s struggle in unions. In the second part of the article series, we will share our interview with Nermin Sharif, the president of the Libyan General Federation of Trade Unions.

10:00

We spoke to feminist lawyer Diren Cevahir Şen about the legal processes of femicide and self-defense cases. “Women are not protected by the state. They are sent home back by police when they apply to them about the violence they face. They are forced to live in torture places so-called houses. When they protect themselves, Article 25 and 27/2 of the Turkish Penal Code are applied against them.”

08:50

“No penalty shall be imposed upon an offender in respect of acts which were committed out of necessity, in order to protect against a serious and certain danger,” says Article 25 of the Turkish Penal Code; however, women face many problems when they try to defend themselves against male violence to not be killed. The right to self-defense of women, who had to kill to not be killed, is systematically ignored.

08:32

Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention by a Presidential decree sparked outrages. The articles of the convention on the protection and restraining orders are very important to protect women from abusive persons. The number of killed women despite all protection and restraining orders has been increasing especially after Turkey’s withdrawal decision. Women have been killed despite restraining orders. Women, who demand to be protected, have been left alone against violence and sacrificed in this way. The state, which withdrew from the Istanbul Convention, has announced the number of femicides saying women lost their lives instead of “women were killed”. Femicides, suspicious women deaths never become an important issue for the government. In our article series, we write the stories of killed women despite restraining orders and women, who had to kill to not be killed.

10:20

“The government should resign for not be able to prevent femicides” The perpetrators are encouraged by both the speeches and the practices of the government. The killers have defended themselves by showing the government’s speeches and practices as references in courtrooms. “How do the AKP's women's policies shape the country?” we asked to Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Diyarbakır MP Remziye Tosun. “The government should resign for not be able to prevent femicides,” she said.

09:21

Patriarchal order feeds inequality Women living in Mardin, Batman, Siirt, and Urfa pointed out the problems they have faced in these cities and emphasized that the patriarchal order feeds inequality. They told us that they will keep struggling against the increasing femicide rate, suspicious deaths of women disguised as suicide, and special war policies in the region.

11:58

At least 6.759 women were killed in the AKP's 18 years. The number of femicides increases day by day. However, no step has been taken to stop femicides. Protections orders only remain on documents. No effective investigations have been carried out while the suspicious deaths of women have been increased. Moreover, Turkey withdrew from the Istanbul Convention protecting women. The ruling party causes women to become the targets with its policies. There is the systematic killing of women in Turkey and it is gendercide! In this article file, we draw attention to femicides in Turkey and male violence, particularly in Kurdish cities. In the first article, we summarize what happened in Turkey. In the second and third articles, we try to explain the dimension of violations of the right to life for women in cities such as Diyarbakır, Mardin and Batman.

10:44

Atiye Husen Mehmud managed to escape with her children before reaching the death camps of the Ba'athist regime. “I was pregnant and had three children. My husband went to buy something for our children and he never came back,” she said, “Women of Anfal went down in history as socially and mentally very sick and helpless community.”

09:59