Turkey Kurdistan - Urban women militants of YDG-K: we are ready to defend our people

     

AMED – The urban women’s militant group Patriotic Revolutionary Young Women (YDG-K) has called on all women to learn to defend themselves and to take to the streets against the ruling AKP’s warmongering in Turkey. The ruling AKP government in Turkey has introduced a new form of war over recent weeks in Kurdistan. The new approach has included air strikes; a furious wave of police raids; declaration of “security zones” in villages; police blockades of urban neighborhoods; and the burning of forests and villages by soldiers.
The YDG-K, an urban women’s militant group, has announced that its urban neighborhood units are prepared to defend against this new form of war. Yekta Ardıl, speaking on behalf of YDG-K, issued a call for all women to struggle for freedom. In their statement, the women of YDG-K denounced the isolation of the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan over recent months, calling it an attempt to break the will of Kurdish youth and especially young women. “Just as a rose defends itself with its thorn, all young women need to develop self-defense mechanisms everywhere, in every space,” said Yekta. “Being both young and women means we have a serious responsibility. We will fulfill this responsibility in every neighborhood and on every street. Developing our self-defense is our legitimate right; we are ready to strike back against those who would block this.”
In the statement, the young women pledged to train themselves in preparation for self-defense and if necessary to dig trenches in urban neighborhoods to defend themselves against state forces. “As our leader said, women’s freedom is Kurdistan’s freedom,” said Yekta. “We will take revenge in every place and in every space for what the fascist state has done.”