'Women, Life, Freedom' - Confederalist feminism in Iraq

[ArabellaScott]

This article has a really interesting angle on the motto of the Iraqi and Kurdish feminists. The geopolitical context is far more complex than I'd realised - the slogan encompasses strong feminist political ideas.

'For Öcalan*, the condition of possibility for the advent of the kinds of slavery that constitutes civilization is the enslavement of women. Öcalan regards women as the first, and thus, the most thoroughly dominated and enslaved group. Before there could be any civilizing process, women must have first been enslaved and dominated. Öcalan also believes a gender revolution is fundamental in breaking the chain of these overlapping forms of domination. No other kinds of liberation from enslavement will fully improve the human condition until women are liberated'

*Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party

nlka.net/eng/?p=609

I can't believe nobody is interested in the sociopolitical roots of Kurdish feminism.

Not disinterested - just ignorant (at least, I am)

I read the article linked and it's thought provoking - not an angle I had thought of or heard myself. Not sure what I make of it.

I was making fun of my own post, sweetgrapes! It probably is a bit niche.

There is an interesting look at 2,d, 3rd and 4th wave feminism from a different perspective, though. Through a more international geopolitical lens.

At least, I find it interesting! 😁

I don’t know if women were first in human history to be enslaved, but I agree we are the demographic that has been the most widely enslaved for life throughout human history.

I don’t agree that slavery of any sort is necessary for there to be any civilising process. They are co-occurring, but no co-dependent imho.

There's plenty to disagree with!

I'm also usually 🙄when hunter-gatherer societies are romanticised.

I find the Rojava model interesting, though. Whether or not it's ultimately successful:

(Section on women around 29 minutes in)

thekurdishproject.org/history-and-culture/kurdish-democracy/rojava-democracy/

www.femalepressure.net/rojava.html

Rojava is woman-led and includes the Jinwar women's village:

www.facebook.com/jinwarwomensvillage/

Thanks for posting the link to the article, Arabella. It's quite long so I had to read it in small sections.

I have to say it gave me a bit of headache as it sounded like any other far left / revolutionary writing with lots of high brow and circular word salad in many areas. 😅

It left me with more questions than answers, although I guess it wasn't aiming to be some detailed thesis.
The romanticism of hunter gatherer societies has always put me off. There's a lot we don't know or can't know and there's been some evidence that these kinds of groups did engage in forms of hierarchy and weren't completely egalitarian all of the time. So what exactly does ending 'civilisation' look like for the 8 billion people on this planet?

I do agree broadly with decentralisation and giving citizens access to participate in forms of direct democracy, but there are also limitations and questions there that need to be explored.

Good decision making on any issue comes from being able to analyse and understand various angles, using evidence based information etc. People with caring responsibilities and other commitments or health issues, may not have the time to explore all issues in depth, or be able to attend all meetings and discussions about it.
Some issues might be easier to decide on than others. How would issues like foreign or economic policies be decided on?
Attending endless rounds of community meetings to reach 'consensus' can become tedious. Of course when you have a direct say in how your community is run, then you are far more invested in the process and the outcome.

It's definitely interesting to see how this kind of direct democratic participation will work out in the long run in Rojava and I'm sure there will be lots to learn along the way.

There weren't any real-life examples given of how serious disagreements are handled. Then again, as I said before, the article isn't intended to be an in-depth explanation and more of a background on the ideological underpinning of the slogans used in the protests.

Interesting reading. 😊

Cheers, Nonny!

Yes, I wasn't posting it as a suggested manifesto or anything! I agree lots of holes in it from my reading. But I think it's interesting to see that a country that's had so much terrible upheaval and war and strife also offers the chance for such an idealistic new direction. Especially the idea that Rojava is culturally mixed, and I think quite unique in placing women's rights so centrally.

Rojava is also open to a mix of religions, I think. Which seems positive.

Yes, you're right - since it's a region with such longstanding conflict and upheaval, I can imagine it's easier to find consensus as there are plenty of immediate existential problems that a majority can agree on irrespective of cultures, ethnicities, religions etc. And definitely unique in placing women's rights and protections on the same level as other priorities, instead of a woeful afterthought.

Jinwar women only village