Worldwide women at Rojava border
MARDÎN (DİHA) – Women taking part in the 4th international action of the World March of Women (WMW) have converged on the border as women on the Rojava side of the border, in Qamişlo, come to meet them. Simultaneous rallies on either side of the border were celebrated with slogans in praise of the Rojava women's revolution and the YPJ (Women's Protection Units).
On both sides, women converged on the border, marching to the accompaniment of traditional erbane drums. On the Northern Kurdistan side of the border, 200 women from 17 countries are taking part in the march alongside thousands of women from Kurdistan. On the Rojava side of the border, the women of Cizîre Canton, undergoing a women-led revolution since 2011, came to the border to greet the march.
Marchers dressed in women's traditional clothing from Kurdistan and around the world headed for Nusaybin's Mitanni Culture Center early in the morning, dancing traditional Kurdish dances to the accompaniment of pipes and drums. The center has been hung with red, yellow, green and purple banners, symbolizing peace and liberation, for the occasion. Women danced, ululated and chanted slogans condemning the murder of women.
Women handed out lollipops decorated with photos of a range of women's heroes, including Sakine Cansız (one of the PKK's founders), Deniz Fırat (a journalist massacred by Daesh), Kader Ortakaya (slain by Turkish soldiers at the border when trying to join the Kobanê resistance), the Dominican Mirabal sisters and German socialist Clara Zetkin.
As they set out from the culture center, the women bore the flags of the Kurdistan-based women's and pro-democracy organizations YPJ, KJA and KCK as well as the flag of the WMW. They also bore posters of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan. Women's security guarded the march along the border, as Qamişlo women held a simultaneous rally.
The Turkish side of the border was on high military alert, with armored cars and tanks positioned for miles. Soldiers awaited the march with heavy weapons in hand.
On the Qamişlo side of the border, on the other hand, the border fence had been taken down at some point yesterday night.
(cm/nt)
