Life in a women's commune

JINHA

NEWS CENTER - Since the beginning of the revolution in Rojava, one of the central projects led by women has been the formation of communes. According to women organizers, the commune system has been women's answer to their exploitation under capitalism.

The third anniversary of the revolution in the Rojava autonomous region in Syria is approaching this July 19. In the days leading up to the day, JINHA is investigating the model of women-led revolution that has made Rojava distinct through discussions with women who have built the new system from the ground up.

Şêrin Hesen is a member of the general coordinating body for Yekîtiya Star, Rojava's main women's organization, in the canton of Efrîn, the westernmost canton of Rojava. Women have formed 338 women's communes in the canton since the revolution began on July 19, 2012. Şêrin noted that the Ba'ath regime had been an oppressive one for women. Many of the women organizers today spent time in Assad's jails.

"July 19 was a resistance against the fragmentation of society produced by the capitalist system, and a day of revolutionary exit," said Şêrin. Since July 19, women have been busy organizing women's communes in their communities.

Each commune holds assemblies and forms committees focusing on education, health, defense, economy and reconciliation. The reconciliation committee works to solve women's problems, such as abuse. The defense committee organizes classes to help women defend themselves from abuse and male violence. The health committee gives emergency response training to women. On the economy committee, women form cooperatives to economically support and employ women in the community.

"When it comes to subjects that are difficult for women in society, economy is at the top," said Henife Muhammed, who serves in the same position as Şêrin in the easternmost and largest canton, Cizîrê. "So that women can form their own economy with their own labor, there have been a number of greenhouses and sewing ateliers opened. These are projects designed to help women form their own economy."

Women have formed 308 communes in Cizîrê, although organizing has stopped in the cities of Hasakah and Serêkaniyê due to the ongoing war, according to Henife.

Today, as the third anniversary of the revolution approaches, the revolutionary system has become normal for people, according to Henife. Revolutionary institutions are part of everyday life. Yekîtiya Star has become a "model of a solution" for women. The communes, she said, both meet society's daily needs and serve as the moral and political regulating force in society.

"This is how society will return to its natural self," she said.

(ekip/mg/cm)