Question: What is the story behind YJA-STAR and Kurdish women’s self-defence battalions?

Though the name YJA-Star was adopted in 2004, the process towards the militarization of women had begun much earlier. The deep contradiction within the sociological reality of Kurdistan and the strong participation of female comrades in the revolution has caused the issue of women’s liberation to incrementally become a pressing matter that is just as important as the national issue. Entrenching the militarizing qualities and the authenticity of the women’s organization as well as ensuring it’s emergence upon genuine demands had been of great importance. “When the revolution succeeds, women will also be emancipated”; at no point such a phrase was invoked. Concerning the woman issue, it has been quite clear that emancipation would only be achieved through the very own ideas, organizations and actions of the women themselves. Concerning this issue, since the self-revelation of women’s self-power is of capital importance, the militarization of women was constituted as a necessity.
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