KJAR issues statement ahead of 25 November, calling for stronger women’s resistance in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan
Ahead of 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Free Women’s Community of Eastern Kurdistan (KJAR) has released a statement highlighting the escalating state-led violence against women in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan.
The statement emphasises that women have played a leading role in the ongoing ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ movement over the past three years, becoming the most powerful force for social and political change in the region.
The statement denounces executions, child marriage, systemic gender discrimination and the widespread repression of women, stressing that the Iranian state’s gender-based policies amount to a form of feminicide. KJAR also honoured the memory of Şirin Elemholî, Zîlan Pepûle, and Arîn Arî as symbols of resistance.
Calling for unity among women of all ethnic communities, KJAR urged the expansion of organised women’s struggles, stating that the only path to freedom is through a self-organised society led by women. The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening collective resistance, declaring that the global women’s movement is entering a new phase shaped by the philosophy of ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’.
Statement of the KJAR on the Occasion of 25 November
As we approach 25 November, a time when nationalism and sexism are pushing women and society towards massacre and destruction, the 21st century’s greatest solution has emerged: the Manifesto of a Democratic and Peaceful Society, developed by Leader Apo and forming the basis of the women’s perspective. The world that the patriarchal system describes as its own apocalypse will come to a halt. The 21st century is the century of women’s freedom. Women in Iran have great potential. Despite the oppression of the Iranian regime, thousands of women, particularly Kurdish women, have rejected the path of surrender and continue to resist. Clear examples of this are Şirin Elemholî, Zîlan Pepûle and Arîen Arî. These women occupy a unique position in the history of the struggle in Eastern Kurdistan. We honour their memory and reaffirm our commitment to their vision of a free society. Activities and struggles by women in Eastern Kurdistan and Iran against violence have increased, particularly since the beginning of the revolutionary uprising of Jin, Jiyan, Azadî, and continue to this day.
On 25 November 1960, the Mirabal sisters — Minerva, Maria and their siblings — members of the Clandestine Party, resisted the dictatorship of R. Trujillo. They were raped and murdered by the dictator’s forces. In their memory, Latin American women designated 25 November as a day of remembrance in 1981, and by 1985 it had become internationally recognised. The struggle of the Mirabal sisters against the patriarchal mindset continues worldwide with unwavering determination. This struggle is directly connected to women’s movements in Iran and the philosophy of Jin, Jiyan, Azadî. For more than three years, people — especially women — have been singing, resisting and fighting in the spirit of this philosophy, demanding a free life and spreading their liberation struggle around the world.
Over the past year, KJAR’s work has been guided by the philosophy of Jin, Jiyan, Azadî. Many struggles for freedom have taken shape across different peoples, including the Fars, Mazani, Gilak, Kurds and Baluch. Women, through their leadership, have continued the revolution, and for this reason the Iranian regime fears their existence and determination. As KJAR, rooted in the tradition of freedom, we resist and fight, organising for a democratic society and broadening our activities in order to confront the patriarchal Iranian regime. We also recognise the essential role of women in building a democratic society and achieving their goals.
As a result of patriarchal policies, there has been an increase in executions, child marriage, social crises and gender-based violence. The roots of today’s problems lie in the male-dominated policies of the regime. The Islamic Republic injects gender discrimination into every aspect of life and responds to any form of dissent with repression. Therefore, women must stand in greater unity against the regime’s gendered policies.
The foundation of democracy is the liberation of women. Until women are free, society cannot be free. On 25 November, we once again emphasise that gender discrimination is a form of feminicide that transcends regions and nations. Women must therefore fight continuously and organisedly against such systematic policies.
In this Third World War, women are subjected to violence by both global systems and nation-states. In Iran, the repression and violence targeting Kurdish, Baluch, Fars, Gilak and Mazani women stems from the state’s patriarchal mentality. The regime has intensified its all-encompassing violence against women by launching waves of arrests and executions. These practices aim to drag society into decline and silence public dissent, especially women’s voices, so that the regime faces no obstacles. Yet women, as the most active and dynamic segment of society, stand as the strongest barrier against patriarchal policies.
Leader Apo’s philosophy and KJAR’s growing struggle are direct responses to feminicide, repression and violence against women and society. Violence within families is increasing daily. Political repression against women is highly organised and advanced across all fields. Women’s identities and wills are being suppressed. This suppression has become so widespread in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan that it goes beyond ordinary violence. Rates of psychological and physical violence, such as rape and so-called ‘honour killings’, are rising. Child marriage and increasing poverty are another dimension of violence against women, affecting areas from Iran to Kurdistan. The murders of Niyan in Bokan and Narin in Northern Kurdistan, as well as dozens of other children across the region, highlight the targeted expansion and normalisation of child marriage, which steals the lives and bodies of these children. Life has become a battlefield for children across the Middle East as nation states aim to deprive them of meaning.
The only path to freedom lies in an organised society and organised women. As women from Iran and eastern Kurdistan, we believe that self-defence and the protection of our identity are legitimate rights in all spheres. It is through self-defence that we will stop this violence. Although violence is spreading globally, the world will only achieve freedom by recognising women’s will. From 2025 onwards, a united global women’s movement will become increasingly visible.
The demands of the women’s freedom movement during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî revolution have united countless oppressed women. Their cry for freedom has transcended borders and united women worldwide. In Afghanistan, women are also continuing their determined struggle against the Taliban’s patriarchal policies. We declare that we will continue our struggle through solidarity and by expanding our collective resistance.
- No to executions, yes to a free life.
Women have the power to stop this injustice. Executions in Iran increase every year, amounting to a form of genocide.
- Women such as Zeyneb Celaliyan, Wirîşe Moradî, Şerîfe Mohammadi, and Pexşan Ezîzî face harsh sentences for their struggle for justice and identity. Many imprisoned women face psychological and physical violence. These women represent society’s voice, and we must amplify it.
- The regime arrests many women under the pretext of improper hijab, turning public spaces and even homes into arenas of violence.
- Arrests of women stem from systematic state violence. We must unite and expand our resistance against the feminicide of women, and strengthen women’s autonomous organization.
- The courage and integrity of countless resisting women have shaken the Iranian regime. With the approach of 25 November, we remind women in Iran that the world is marching with the philosophy of Jin, Jiyan, Azadî. As free women of Eastern Kurdistan and Iran, we possess the capacity for self-defense against patriarchal mentality.
- In Iran, the only solution and alternative is the women’s revolution. Women’s protests and movements in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan are powerful. We are passing through a phase of extreme masculine state violence. Organized women’s struggle will stop authoritarian mentality.
- Women in Iran are the greatest social force for freedom. Three years after the Jin, Jiyan, Azadî uprising, women continue to stand strongly and authentically against the regime, leaving deep political and social impacts.
- We welcome the expansion of women’s struggles against violence. Unfortunately, violence against women has been normalized—deliberately and systematically.
- Those living and struggling in Iran and Eastern Kurdistan must hold the regime’s patriarchal mentality accountable. Only then can a democratic Iran and a women’s revolution emerge.
- As the regime insists on sustaining its authoritarian system, we must build our struggle on democratic society and organization. The third line—democratic politics and organization—is our foundation. As KAJAR, we defend women’s struggles through the line of freedom and self-defense.
- Women across Iran and the world who have raised their hair like a flag of defiance against authoritarian mentality will dismantle the patriarchal system. A society that has been distanced from nature and cosmic harmony will reconnect with the natural world only through the women’s perspective. In Iran and Eastern Kurdistan, the united struggle of women will continue to grow.
- The meaning of life must not be confined within biological existence; the only solution lies in the freedom of women and society.
- The more the patriarchal Iranian regime strengthens the nation-state system, the more it expands gender discrimination. No state has the right to take away the achievements gained by women through struggle. To confront gender apartheid, we must expand our struggle and resistance to build a democratic, ecological society grounded in women’s freedom.
- Against the genocide of nature, ecology, and women, we say: Jin, Jiyan, Azadî.
Free Women’s Community of Eastern Kurdistan – KJAR
Jin, Jiyan, Azadî
19–11–2025