RONÎDA HACÎ

Hasakah- In an interview with NuJINHA, Yisra Îlyas, member of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), talked about the women’s revolution in North and East Syria, the repressions of the Baathist regime before the revolution and women’s struggle against patriarchal politics imposed on women by the regime.

 Yisra Îlyas worked and struggled to change the patriarchal mindset in the 90s under the repressions of the Baathist regime to achieve gender-based equality. “Every woman finds herself in the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi.”

 ‘Our aim was to create social consciousness’

73-year-old Yisra Îlyas, mother of three, told us that women led the revolution in Rojava. She is from Tall Tamr and now she lives in Hasakah with her family. Yisra Îlyas studied law at university. “I studied law only for two years. My family was a religious family. I began to be involved in the Kurdish Freedom Movement when I was 15. In the 90s, we came together with young people and we discussed how we could create social consciousness. We attended Kurdish courses to preserve our mother language. Our aim was to create social consciousness.”

‘I always worked hard to improve myself’

Speaking about the policies of the Syrian regime on young people before the revolution in Rojava, Yisra Îlyas told us how they had struggled against the repressions and what they had faced in prisons of the Syrian regime.

“At that time, drug use was widespread among young people. So, we started making efforts against drug use. We told the young people what kinds of policies the Syrian regime carried out against them. The regime forces began to follow us after learning our activities. One day, I went to Damascus to get medicine because I was sick. While returning to Hasakah, the regime forces stopped us and arrested me. I spent a month in prison. A psychological warfare was waged against me in prison; they tortured people in front of me to scare me. Despite everything, I always worked hard to improve myself in prison. I was released from the prison after a month because they found nothing to accuse me.”

After being released from prison, Yisra Îlyas faced social pressure because the arrest of women was thought of as a shame in society. “But my husband supported me because he knew that I adapted the philosophy of life of leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan). At that time, I decided to fight such a mentality. We carried out our activities in secret. It was difficult, but those days were meaningful and valuable. I will never forget those days.”

 

‘We reach every woman’

After the Democratic Union Party (PYD) was founded in 2003, Yisra Îlyas became a member of the party. “We carried out our activities in a secret way in order to understand our society and protect ourselves from the system. In 2011, a civil war broke out in Syria. The Syrian government withdrew its forces from many regions, leaving people unprotected. Women formed their defense forces to protect themselves and their people. The revolution was a great chance to liberate society from a life of slavery. Today, we reach every woman in society.”

Speaking about the beginning of the revolution in Rojava, she said:

“I took part in the foundation of the Yekitîya Star (A confederation of women's organizations in Rojava. Today, it is known as Kongra Star). Then, I served as the co-chair of the Hasakah City Council. Now, I am a member of the PYD.  There is a big difference between our activities before and after the revolution. I feel happy whenever I see how our activities before the revolution were successful. When the YPJ, women’s defense units, was founded, we felt excited. We saw how the YPJ fighters liberated people from ISIS and how they protected the people of Shengal (Sinjar). After the revolution, women founded all-women’s news agency, TV channels, radio stations and women’s organizations. Women have achieved great gains thanks to the revolution.”

‘This slogan aims to build a society based on gender equality’

Speaking about the slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (English: Women, Life, Freedom)”, Yisra Îlyas said, “Today, everyone wants to learn more about the women’s revolution in North and East Syria. The slogan 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' is not just a word, every woman finds herself in this slogan and women have been building a society based on gender equality with this slogan. Leader Apo says a healthy society can be built by women. Today, everyone believes that women can build a free life.”

‘Governments are afraid of the power of women’

For years, the Turkish state has targeted pioneering women in North and East Syria. Yisra Îlyas thinks that pioneering women are targeted because they have waged a struggle against the patriarchal mentality in order to change society.

“The women, who wage this struggle, are attacked by the enemy. Governments do not want women to be free because they are afraid of the power of women. Today, women are targeted all over the world, especially in North and East Syria. Despite everything, women keep chanting the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ to demand freedom. The Turkish state targets women leading the revolution. The aim of the Turkish state is to prevent leader Öcalan’s 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadi' philosophy from spreading all around the world. But, we are sure that the women’s revolution will be a successful revolution because women can build a free life when they unite.”