The women’s umbrella organization in North-East Syria, Kongra Star, released a statement marking March 8.

In its message “from Rojava to all women in resistance worldwide”, Kongra Star said the following:

“Above all, we greet all women who are resisting on the occasion of the 8th of March, International Women’s Day. This day, on which women all over the world take to the streets, is an achievement of women on their long path of revolutionary struggle. It is also a historical legacy left to us by the great sacrifices that women have made to date.

In the name of Clara Zetkin, Rosa Luxemburg, Alexander Kollantai, Leyla Qasim, Sakine Cansiz, Şirin Elem Holi, Mina Keshwar, Berta Caceres and Marielle Franco we commemorate all the women who sacrificed their lives for the struggle for freedom. We also pay tribute to the resistance and struggle of all activists and revolutionaries who are in prison for rebelling against oppressive and dictatorial regimes. We greet all women around the world on the 8th of March, which we celebrate here in North and East Syria under the motto “With the free will of women, we will end the policy of genocide, occupation and isolation”.

The past year, which has been characterized by wars and attacks on women and the rights they have gained, also clearly shows the necessity and importance of a strong resistance and struggle against patriarchy and the capitalist modernity that comes along with it. We have witnessed the outbreak of wars on a regional and global scale that have led to war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, feminicide and various forms of oppression, for example in Kurdistan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Balochistan, Latin America, Ukraine, Myanmar and many other places. We are also witnessing a shift to the right and fascism on a global scale, especially in Western countries. These wars and developments are the result of a patriarchal, male-dominated mentality that is primarily directed against women and the fight for freedom. We saw this once again with the targeted killing of our female comrades last month. Our comrade Zelal Zagros, who was in Kirkuk to network with women’s organizations, was the target of an armed attack by the Turkish secret service. Şehid Sorxwin and Şehid Azadi, two members of the women’s defense unit YPJ who played an important role in the fight against ISIS, were killed in a drone attack. Additionally, a special war is being waged through which attempts are being made to appropriate women’s struggles or rob them of their content and integrate them into the ruling capitalist system. This concerns concepts such as feminist foreign policy or the fact that the slogan Jin Jiyan Azadi is shouted by right-wing politicians, but the actual content, meaning and origin of the slogan is ignored or criminalized.

But despite all of these attacks, the tireless resistance of women could not be broken. The legacy of millennia of resistance continues and women are at the forefront fighting for their freedom and the freedom of their society. We are convinced that women are the only force that can defeat nationalism, fascism, patriarchy, colonialism and all forms of oppression. Therefore, it is urgent that we women unite in a common strategy and lead a global freedom struggle against the global imperialist war. The activities of all anti-systemic forces and social movements that are developing under the leadership of women must not be considered separately. This force must flow together and become a force for change like a waterfall. We are convinced that the 21st century will be the century of women’s freedom. And we can achieve this by building a democratic world women’s confederalism, because together we are strong.

As a women’s movement in Rojava and North and East Syria, the place where we started a women’s revolution 12 years ago and where we are still living and defending it every day, we send this message to all women worldwide who are in resistance. We stand with the Palestinian and Jewish women fighting against genocidal and feminicidal policies, we stand with the women fighting against the Taliban in Afghanistan, against the Sharia regime in Iran, against the fascist regime of Erdoğan in Turkey, against the oppression in Baluchistan, against fundamentalist forces and states in the Middle East, we stand with the women fighting against the rise of right-wing politics, fascism and oppression in the heart of capitalism.

We salute all women who are resisting in the mountains, in the streets, in the factories, in every field and everywhere else, turning every place into the color of freedom. We call to unite and strengthen our common struggle and to turn the 8th of March protests into a worldwide women’s revolution.”