The Democratic Regions Party (DBP) held its 7th Ordinary Congress on 12 January 2025. Work on the establishment of women's commissions in every province, self-defence and jineology workshops, which were decided at the congress, was started. DBP Women's Assembly Spokesperson Berivan Bahçeci spoke about the implementation of the decisions taken and the developments on the agenda. 

 

WOMEN'S COMMISSIONS WILL BE ESTABLISHED

 

Berivan Bahçeci stated that as DBP Women's Assembly they are carrying out a wide range of activities and that they aim to establish women's commissions all over Kurdistan. She said that they have come to such a decision in order to organise in Kurdistan, to fight against femicides and to spread the idea of women's ideology. 

 

Berivan Bahçeci stated that they have especially chosen the provinces where they could not organise before and where they were weak in the field of women. She said that they have established the infrastructure of women's commissions in Mêrdin (Mardin) and that they will establish these commissions in every province, especially in cities such as Semsûr (Adıyaman), Îdir (Iğdır) and Agirî (Ağrı). Berivan Bahçeci said that these commissions were implemented in order to carry out the organisation work against the 10,000 years male-dominated system and stated that after the establishment of the commissions, they would establish women's organisation in all neighbourhoods and streets. 

 

SELF-DEFENCE AND JINEOLOGY WORKSHOPS

 

Berivan Bahçeci reminded that as the women's assembly, they held workshops against the special war policies in all provinces of Kurdistan and stated that the workshops revealed that the policy of drug use, prostitution, spying, assimilation and intimidation of young women and the whole people had become widespread. Berivan Bahçeci stated that they decided to continue these workshops with self-defence and said, "The main purpose of self-defence is to organise. If there is no self-defence against the attack, if there is no consciousness, that society or person is doomed to perish. In order to prevent this, we will achieve self-defence with an organising move."

 

HISTORICAL CALL AND THE ROLE OF WOMEN

 

Referring to the increasing massacres of women, Berivan Bahçeci stated that this should be evaluated in terms of isolation and the lack of a democratic solution to the Kurdish issue. Berivan Bahçeci stated that the fact that a person who murders a woman gets a "good behaviour discount" is due to the policies of the current system.

 

Speaking about Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's "Call for Peace and Democratic Society", Berivan Bahçeci said that women see themselves at the centre of this call. Berivan Bahçeci stated that women should organise themselves within the call and play their role and mission. Berivan Bahçeci underlined that all women should take the initiative for a new world and a new process and said, "We are at the centre of this call. We need to play an important role and mission in order to enlarge and socialise the call. We must act with the awareness and responsibility of this." 

 

Commenting on Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan's message to women, Berivan Bahçeci added: "In every call of Mr Abdullah Öcalan, there is always an emphasis on women. In his meeting, Mr. Öcalan said ‘As far as I follow, I see the organisation of women as good, but they should struggle more and organise more’. Women embraced the ideas of Mr Abdullah Öcalan and took part at the forefront. From now on, in order for the state and the government to take steps, women have a great role and duty at the point of organising." 

 

Finally, Berivan Bahçeci said that they will work towards breaking the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan. 

 

MA/ Müjdat Can