Few political projects in recent years have been a source of greater hope and inspiration than Rojava - the Kurdish region of north-eastern Syria. Inspired by the political philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Rojava embodies a radical ecology, direct democracy and a deep commitment to gender equality.
Although always threatened by a hostile regional geopolitics, the Kurdish people’s revolutionary social and political experiment finds itself now under renewed bombardment. On 6th October Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of US troops from the region, effectively giving the green light to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to invade, under the auspices of creating a buffer zone in which up to a million Syrian refugees who had fled to Turkey might live. Just a few weeks on and hundreds of Kurds have been killed, and hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes.
On 2nd November we spoke to two activists from the Kurdish women’s movement, Dilar Dirik and Elif Sarican, to discuss the situation in Rojava, and what meaningful action is needed in order to safeguard its future.
---
For wider reading on the subject, go to plutobooks.com/podcastreading
Women Defend Rojava campaign: https://womendefendrojava.net/en/
Join the Union!
Fighting for Climate Justice and a People‘s Green New Deal
Transgender Marxism
Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: The Policing Bill and Institutional Racism
Lost in Work: Escaping Capitalism
Dark Academia: How Universities Die
'Border Nation' and the Case for Abolition
Empire's Endgame: Racism and the British State
Where Grieving Begins: Building Bridges after the Brighton Bomb
The Truth About Modern Slavery
Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine
The Brutish Museums: Decolonisation and the Benin Bronzes
Workers Resisting Amazon
Vagabonds and the Revenge of Capitalism
A People's History of Tennis
The New Intellectuals: The Rise of the Right in Latin America
Pandemic Solidarity: Mutual Aid during the Covid-19 Crisis
The New Intellectuals: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi
Hidden San Francisco
The New Intellectuals: The Civil War in the United States
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free