'Shengal's freedom is Êzidî women's freedom'

Tuğba Akyılmaz/JINHA

SHENGAL - One year into the armed resistance against Daesh in the Êzidî city of Shengal, women fighters say that Êzidî women's participation in their ranks has been the sign of Shengal's resistance.

In this series, JINHA turns to the mountains of the city of Shengal to look back on a year since Daesh attacked the Êzidî city. We speak with Berfin Nurhaq, Shengal Commander for the Kurdish guerrilla group YJA-Star, about the last year of efforts to liberate the city from Daesh.

Berfin said that there were many reasons behind Daesh's all-out attack on Shengal. Among them was the fact that Shengal is immediately adjacent to the Rojava autonomous region of Syria.

"In Rojava, what we're talking about is a women's revolution, which the gangs [Daesh] and the powerful couldn't stomach," said Berfin. "The Shengal Mountains are one of the biggest strategic centers for gangs to attack Rojava. They planned to start attacking Rojava more easily as soon as they captured this position.

"Another reason is that from the point of view of Kurdistan and the Middle East, the Shengal area has historical, geographical, cultural and religious importance and they hoped to destroy this, to implement their planned single-religion repression," said Berfin. She referred to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan's remark that in the capitalist system, "societies cease being society" and lose their cultural strength. "As a result, the gangs--supported by those in power--launched inhumane attacks in the Middle East, in order to destroy cultural values."

Now, said Berfin, people have come from across the Kurdistan region to stand up for and defend Êzidî belief and identity. She said that the presence of guerrillas has changed the discussion from the effects of the massacre to what a liberation struggle means for the Êzidî people. Êzidî people now fight in their own guerrilla defense units--the men's units YBŞ and women's units YPJ-Shengal--to fight for the city.

The city lies between three areas of critical strategic importance: Rojava (in Syria); the Federal Kurdistan Region (in Iraq); and the rest of Iraq. Berfin commented on the current military situation in Shengal. She noted that there was a period when the guerrilla fighters were on the defense. During that period, Daesh launched a number of actions aimed at lowering morale.

"Now, the HPG, YJA-Star, YBş and YPJ-Shengal guerrillas… have taken various hills and settlements with a commanding position over the Shengal center and have taken control of the Shengal city center," said Berfin. The refusal of the KDP--the ruling party in the Federal Kurdistan Region--to take part in supporting the Shengal resistance has been a frequent topic of criticism. Berfin called for the government to take the necessary steps to free Shengal of Daesh.

"What is next is to ensure that Êzidî women do not forget the pain of the decree, and to build a consciousness and a stance that can fight back against this reality," said Berfin. The guerrillas have organized a defense academy to build up the Êzidî women's defense force, YPJ-Shengal, into one that can free and defend the city.

"What's certain is that Shengal's freedom is linked to Êzidî women's freedom," said Berfin. She said that the growth of YPJ-Shengal into a strong and independent force was the road to the city's liberation.

(zd/fk/cm)