The Perspective of Internationalist Young Women
The historical resistance of young women is a boundless epic. It lives on in the collective memory of women, awaiting documentation.
In the past three months, events have unfolded rapidly; for the first time in almost four years, the peoples of the world received a message from Abdullah Öcalan from the Turkish prison island of Imrali. In the message, Öcalan stated: “If the conditions are created, I have the theoretical and practical power to lead this phase from a foundation of conflict and violence to a legal and political foundation.” For us, as young women, this message—shared during the first meeting after three years and eight months of total isolation—acts as a guiding light in the darkness that surrounds us.
This makes it all the more important to understand what is meant by “creating the conditions.” It implies two things: first, that the necessary circumstances for Abdullah Öcalan to assume his role do not yet exist; and second, that it is the task of this phase to bring those circumstances into being. The words from Imrali are a call to action, creation, and transformation.
Attacks and Resistance
The global attacks on young women have perhaps never been stronger than they are now. Crises have reached an unprecedented peak. Worldwide, the conflict of life-hostile capitalist modernity is intensifying. Neither the First nor the Second World War reached the incomprehensible levels of misery and suffering we see today. Capitalist modernity has steered the world toward total catastrophe, and each passing day makes it more urgent to reverse course. Over the past three months, we have witnessed the bloody manifestations of capitalist modernity firsthand.
The resurgence of jihadism in Syria, the Turkish war of aggression against the women’s revolution in northern and eastern Syria, the martyrdom of female journalists like Şehîd Nazim Daştan and Şehîd Cîhan Bilgin, the rise of fascism in the centers of capitalist modernity, abductions in Balochistan, and the death of Gisèle Pelicot—all these brutalities of modernity share one thing in common: they are a war against women.
What unites all hegemonic, dominant forces—exploiters, fascists, and oppressors—is the shared belief that a woman who stands on her own land, with free will and independent thought, organized and fighting for ideals like beauty, freedom, and love, poses the greatest threat. The only common ground that unites oppressive forces, from national governments to gangs, mafias, armies, paramilitaries, and financial capitalism, is the enslavement of women and the war against them.
The Resistance of the Oldest Colony
Efforts to prevent women from resisting this war begin before birth. Even before a girl is born, expectations are placed upon her—how she should develop, the happiness she should bring to her parents, and the roles she is meant to fulfill. It is difficult to cage a bird that has already experienced freedom, and equally difficult to convince a woman who has tasted freedom to accept her own enslavement. Thus, the system ensnares women from the womb, with patriarchal indoctrination beginning at birth.
No other nation, colony, or group feels the urge for freedom as strongly as young women. Only the united strength of women can radically redirect the ‘Snowpiercer’ of capitalist modernity. Young women must act with all the rage and contempt they have accumulated against this false life.
Whether organized or not, in every corner of the world—from the mountains to the coasts, from remote villages to the metropolises of modernity—every woman has a battle to fight. The current attempts to suppress young women represent the pinnacle of historical tragedy. While the forms of women’s oppression have changed over 5,000 years of patriarchy, its essence remains one of enslavement.
The enslavement of women began in the ziggurat temples of the Sumerians, the first state systems in human history. These temples, dedicated to the gods, had three levels: the top for the gods, the middle for soldiers and administrators, and the bottom for the first brothels in history. The word “prostitution” derives from the Latin prostituere, meaning “to display.” To display something is to turn it into an object. The subject-object divide began with patriarchy and laid the foundation for the concept of power. An object has no will of its own; it neither decides for itself nor for others. Patriarchy made men the subjects and women the objects, a dynamic that patriarchal systems have institutionalized over millennia.
Over the millennia, this separation has deepened and become institutionalized. In modernity, it can be found on every street corner, in every interpersonal relationship, in the human-nature dynamic, the state-society relationship, in every area of life, and in every thought. The brothels of the Sumerian temples were not merely places of prostitution and enslavement; they symbolized the first step in the colonization of women and their identity. Over the course of history, the objectification of women has grown increasingly complex, taking on various forms and reaching its peak in capitalist modernity.
Does Liberalism Liberate Us?
Throughout most of history, young women have played a central role in societal development. During the Neolithic Revolution, women were the driving force behind the creation of an evolving society. However, as patriarchy became an organized force against women and society, the role of young women shifted. They were transformed—from temple prostitutes to court concubines, from housewives to state officials. Over the centuries, women experienced various stages of enslavement, culminating in liberalism, which persuaded women to view their slavery as freedom.
If we want to wage an effective gender struggle today, it is essential to understand how we arrived here. Liberalism propagates the idea that ultimate freedom is wearing what we want, doing what we want, saying what we want, and living how we want. But what does freedom mean for a woman trapped in millennia-old chains of enslavement? How can the will of a woman who has been objectified be truly free? The most insidious slavery is that which masquerades as freedom.
The ziggurats of the ruling system of capitalist modernity may no longer be three-story temples, but they still exist. The enslavement of women has reached an almost universal status. An attempt is being made to create a reality in which no area of life remains untouched by the oppression of women. This enslavement is no longer limited to specific actions, such as the physical prostitution or objectification of women’s bodies, but has been etched into the thoughts, feelings, and actions of every woman. Abdullah Öcalan referred to this condition of women as a “universal whore.” As painful as it may be to use such a term, when we reflect on the current reality of young women in almost every corner of the world, in nearly every sphere of life, this is the harsh truth of the 21st century.
The Abyss of World War
The world is deeply entrenched in the third world war, and no patch of earth has been spared from bloodshed. Yet, amidst this chaos, the resistance of women endures. Women have never fully surrendered, even as humanity continues its relentless march toward the abyss. Across all continents, the resistance against war, crisis, and fascism is intense and unyielding. The Third World War is a ticking time bomb. Femicides and sexual violence are now daily realities in war, while rising fascism and authoritarianism fuel the brutality. The already unfolding ecological collapse and unrestrained industrialism are driving humanity forward like a train with no brakes. Sabotaging this train would trigger an explosion, potentially ending in nuclear war or further massacres. Instead of a bloody night, the struggle of women must be approached with deeper understanding. From the peak of crisis lies the potential to seize opportunities, provided time and space are understood correctly. Every moment of chaos holds the possibility of freedom. Young women, through their dual identity as women and youth, possess the ability to see reality with clarity. An organized and educated movement of young women could grasp this momentum, set new tracks for the train, and change the course of history.
However, building such strength requires deliberate steps in ideological struggle. A movement that reflects while it moves, and moves while it reflects, could herald the beginning of the end of patriarchy. There is no young woman who lives entirely without contradictions with patriarchy or who has completely aligned herself with domination—this would contradict the essence of being a woman. The alienation of women from their identity, land, and culture is a universal condition, though it manifests differently across regions. Colonization, urbanization, and the destruction of habitable spaces uproot women worldwide. Recognizing these contradictions in every young woman and organizing from there must become the natural task of all women. The revolution of women is thereby amplified.
Our strongest weapon is our word: dialogue, discussion, organization, and self-education. Even physical self-defense can only be realized through ideological strength. Self-education fosters a strong, free will and eliminates the enslaved patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting. Jineolojî, the science of women and life, as proposed by Abdullah Öcalan, is not an exclusive practice. Every woman, in every movement, anywhere in the world, can immerse herself in this science, which provides an alternative to the sciences serving domination. The history of women before patriarchy has not been written—and those who attempted to write it were burned at the stake.
Yet, neither the past nor the future is predetermined. Every moment can be transformed into one where alternatives are lived. Progress is neither linear nor circular. Like a spiral, we advance—just as the internationalist movement of young women evolves. Internationalism is intrinsic to the nature of women. No matter how much effort is made to isolate and alienate them, it can never be fully achieved. Every woman who feels even a little awareness of her womanhood can naturally understand and empathize with other women anywhere. No borders of nation-states can confine this connection.
The Spring of Women and Peoples
An internationalist young women’s movement, aware of this reality, can create unity among young women worldwide at an extraordinary pace—and the need for this is urgent. Feminist movements have achieved and continue to achieve incredible things, yet they remain insufficient. A person with cancer is not saved from death by rescuing a single gray cell. We must confront this reality radically and honestly. The war we are in is too serious for us to waste our time with self-deceptions, especially when the enemy works 24 hours a day to mislead any form of resistance. Our response must be a radical movement of young women united by their shared grounds while embracing their differences.
The year 2025 will become the spring of women and peoples. The women’s guerrilla movement YJA-Star in the free mountains of Kurdistan represents the forefront of women’s resistance. The guerrilla forces have called for 2025 to be the spring of women and peoples. By turning every piece of land into a front of resistance, we can answer this call.
The question of the 21st century that we, as women, must ask ourselves is: How do we want to live? What alternative can we offer to the nation-state, patriarchy, and capitalism? If our goal is clear, the path and the methods of our struggle will reveal themselves. The way we resist, the way we fight, must serve a purpose. By answering these questions collectively, we can reshape the battlefield in 2025—the peak of the Third World War—and move closer to women’s liberation.
In which moments have we felt freedom? When did we sense that we were on the right path? When did we deeply feel our womanhood? The physical freedom of Abdullah Öcalan, Rêber Apo, will be decisive for the spring of women and peoples. Our moments of freedom are sources of strength for our struggle and will shape our perspective and stance for 2025.
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