On 8 March, we celebrate not only women, but also their dreams for a free life and their struggles
As this first quarter of the 21st century draws to a close, we see clearly how women have taken the lead in social liberation movements on all continents. We would like to salute every woman around the world and remember all the women whose efforts, resistance and sacrifices have brought women’s liberation to this day. Women’s movements and women’s liberation are built on our bravest friends who risked their lives for the belief and struggle for an alternative, for a free life.
It is no wonder that the system tries to maintain itself by suffocating in the most brutal way those voices that courageously show the way to liberation. The attacks on women and society form an interconnected system of violence: feminicides, imprisonment and death sentences for women activists, attacks on women’s rights, objectification and sexualization of women, ideological wars that present women as inferior and dependent on men, denial of women’s identity, rape as a weapon of war, economic exploitation… Violence against women is part of the oppressive system in which we live. Capitalist modernity has grown on a millennia-old patriarchal mentality based on the enslavement of women, attacking the moral and political capacity of society, normalising militarism, the exploitation of human beings and nature. It divides society, cutting women off from society without limit in order to gain profit and power. We are witnessing the disastrous consequences of this system today as capitalist modernity faces a deep crisis. In the face of this situation, the women-led struggles around the world prove to us that the alternative to capitalist modernity has always existed and that socialist and democratic values are alive and well.
In the Middle East, in Kurdistan, the philosophy of Jin Jiyan Azadî, which links the liberation of society to the liberation of women, guides the Rojava revolution and its political project. Today, this unique system, in which the autonomous women’s organisation is central, is threatened by the HTS regime; however, the women’s movement in Northern and Eastern Syria continues to offer solutions for the whole country and gathers the different peoples of Syria around it. But it is not only in Syria that we see an uprising of different people, of the youth, of different women from different societies. The movement there is giving hope to women all over the world, while at the same time calling for global support.
The philosophy of Jin Jiyan Azadî also inspired the uprisings in Iran after the murder of Jîna Mahsa Amini. In 2024, two years after the start of the uprising, the Islamic Republic recorded the highest annual number of executions of women in the last 17 years, with 31 women executed in Iranian prisons. Despite this, women like Pakhshan Azizi, who is currently facing the death penalty, show us that resistance continues even under such appalling conditions. But her stance also shows the resistance of many more women in Iranian prisons like Sharifeh Mohammadi and Warisha Moradi. International campaigns are underway to put an end to executions in Iran.
In Afghanistan, women are bravely standing up to the Taliban regime as their faces and voices are banned from public life. The poems and courageous actions of Afghan women have travelled around the world, making their voices heard and escaping the grip of the Taliban.
In South America, the most courageous defenders of the land and nature against exploitative and destructive capitalist forces are the indigenous peoples and women activists – Berta Cáceres stands for all those who have been brutally murdered for fighting against the destruction of our natural environment.
In Africa, where we see the efforts of women from different peoples, such as the Oromo, in Ethiopia, the Berbers or in South Africa, who are resisting colonialism and patriarchy at the same time. The struggle against a male dominated life links their struggles with the struggles for a free life across continents and oceans.
Mass demonstrations and strikes took place in India last year following the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor. Again we saw how the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ became the expression of this uprising against patriarchal violence among the demonstrators. Also in Europe, we see women organising against the capitalist and patriarchal system that kills women mentally and physically every day. We can find countless other examples of resistance all over the world, such as in Asia, in North America, fighting against a sexist, racist society, all of them shining like lights in the darkness.
And if we look at history, we find thousands of other examples. The 8th of March has always been a symbol for the resistance of working women fighting for their rights and could only be achieved through effort, work and struggle. The earliest observance of such a day is traced to 1909 in New York, when the Socialist Party of America organized a Women’s Day in support of garment workers striking for better pay and working conditions. In 1910, at the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, German feminist Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an annual Women’s Day. The significance of March 8 was cemented in 1917 when women in Russia protested for “Bread and Peace” amid World War I. Their strike sparked a revolution that led to the abdication of the czar and granted women voting rights in Russia. Hence, 8th of March stands for the way women have fought for their rights and brought about improvements for the working class and for all of society.
As Abdullah Öcalan said: “Without the liberation of women, we cannot achieve democracy and freedom”. It is precisely in this historical period that Abdullah Öcalan launched a call for “peace and a democratic society”, insisting on the vanguard role of women in social change and resistance against a patriarchal system. Now, more than ever, it is important to fight for his physical freedom as well!
We are well aware that women are at the centre of these attacks because they hold the solution to the social problems facing humanity. Throughout history, women have played a central role in holding society together, organising life and maintaining a balanced relationship with nature. Today, patriarchal attacks are aimed at this social force that fights to defend life. Collective organisation and resistance are needed to repel the attacks of the system and build a free life.
We salute the courage and strength of the women who are fighting all over the world. With the certainty that the 21st century will be the century of women’s revolution, we will celebrate this 8 March as the day of resistance!
