Dîdem Elî/JINHA

SERÊKANIYÊ – Working women in the Rojava city of Serêkanîyê say that they will be celebrating women’s labor and organizing this International Workers’ Day.

The women, who work in the fields in the city in Cizîrê Canton, noted that it has taken great struggle for women to organize life and labor in the autonomous cantons. Zehra, one of the field laborers, has been working since she was a child. This May 1, she is celebrating the fruits of the struggle of women, who are oppressed by the double burden of domestic and waged labor.

“If we have a good life here today, it’s because of the price we have paid,” she said. “We live here thanks to the blood of martyrs.” She said that the resistance of the YPJ against Daesh gangs was part of the struggle to organize women against their exploitation and oppression.

“Women are seen as slaves in society,” says field worker Xedîca Mihemed. “If women are half of society, they need to have the right to speak in all areas of life.”

The largest May 1 celebration in Kurdistan is expected to take place in Northern Kurdistan, in the city of Batman, tomorrow. Women will be taking to the streets in force.

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