As we celebrate the victories and visions of feminist movement on March 8 in the memory of those who have given their lives for creating a more just world and honor those women who have brought into visibility the Kurdish women’s legendary movement for change, it is very troubling that a Kurdish pro-feminist movement of men is yet to emerge. A pro-feminist men’s movement may sound like a contradiction in terms as any self-critique one’s own power and privilege to most men will be an act of collective suicide or self-vilification. But I argue that most Kurdish men occupy a distinct position because they have experienced to different degrees, ethnic, cultural, religious and in the case of LGBTs gender discrimination; therefore, they are more prone to adopt a pro-feminist stance. At least once a year I am invited to speak to women’s organizations or university communities on the Kurdish women’s rights. I usually speak about the origin, importance, and transformation of the movement from 1990’s on and the challenges it confronts; I show how the movement has expanded the Kurdish struggle for the right to self-determination to include women’s autonomy for creating gender equality and justice in a society that is largely still governed by patriarchal relations and structures. It is unfortunate that in these gatherings there are very few pro-feminist men committed to the feminist cause. The Kurdish women’s feminism is indeed in need of pro-feminist men to teach themselves and other men to respect and support women’s rights as articulated by women. This new space has become possible through the democratic expansion of the Kurdish freedom movement in a region that is becoming increasingly more gripped by religious fervor and factions that reinforce gender divide. Kurdish women’s gains in redefining the role of women in creating a democratic and civil society needs wider recognition and support if we are serious about changing the culture of power. The mission of pro-feminist men can be defined and articulated as it evolves in attempting to make sense of the reasons and consequences of the Kurdish women’s movement both in connection with the Kurdish movement and in its questioning traditional notions of nation, patriarchal values and images of women. In response to the feminist demands, men can form pro-feminist movements to create a meaningful dialogue to understand the construction of patriarchy and how men are directly or indirectly implicated in the oppression of women; many men would eventually realize that this is a moral problem that needs to be addressed and solved if they want the cycle of vicious violence societal or self- inflicted against women to come to an end; it is only in this process of reflexivity that many would discover that the struggle against ethnic oppression and racism is intrinsically linked with the struggle against various manifestations of patriarchy. Creating and fostering a candid and critical dialogue about the traditional structure of gender relations such as honor killing, sexism, sexual harassment and their oppressive nature, pro-feminist men would soon realize that a feminist perspective can affectively, psychologically, socio-historically contribute to greater democratization and enable men to disentangle themselves from the shackles of sexism, gendered violence, and patriarchal practices and structures. This does not mean that that the culture of violence against women would end as soon as some men embrace the autonomy and leadership of women. Patriarchy is a pervasive and ubiquitous ideology that has been naturalized by its silenced victims. As the poet and academician Choman Hardi who has researched the Kurdish Anfal women has eloquently put it (Rudaw 26/3/2014) “Patriarchy is not a war between men and women. It is a fight against women by a system, which also includes women. Many women have internalized the patriarchal values through socialization, religion and tradition. And when you believe in the system, you will oppress women who cross the line.” It seems obvious that transforming social values and attitudes about gender relations is not an easy task nor can it be done without changing the objective and institutional conditions for the adoption of gender equality and justice. A significant change in views and in gaining support for feminism would only be possible through early socialization of children and the youth into and through the language and culture of gender equality. In the words of Hardi, it requires an educational policy that will involve “a process of maintenance… If you are providing an alternative discourse, you have to do this continuously. Now, the only discourse available is the Islamic one, and the young are taking it on. The education system has completely neglected the sense of gender equality.” The main task of a pro-feminist movement is to develop a perspective shared by men and women about the cultural production of the patriarchy, notions that have begun to emerge as the result of the feminist revolution in Rojava. Our land has been the recurrent scenes of severe and systematic barbarities both ethnic and religious; as a result of which hundreds of thousands have been massacred or expelled from their villages and towns; Anfal genocidal campaign and the vicious onslaught of the ISIS among other atrocities have shown the scope of the systematic targeting of women and young girls who have been subjected to gendercide. Thousands of young women and activists have also been made the object of disappearances, mass executions, horrendous tortures, and rapes in Iranian and Turkish prisons. These acts of genocide frequently used against Kurdish women and young men survivors whose narratives of violence are well documented (Begikhani, 2010 Hardi, 2005 Mojab and Hassanpour, 2002) have shattered societal dignity and given rise to entrenched honor codes of shame and honor by the dint of which women are subjected to double oppression of both ethnic discrimination and patriarchal structures, leading to acts of force and violence against them by members of their own family. A pro-feminist men’s movement recognizes the need for making men aware of the implicit and explicit power that they have as it stresses the need for equal participation of women in social domains, educational and employment opportunities, and the ways in which men have contributed to the culture of subjugation and its harmful effects on women and themselves. In short, raising awareness among men about socially constructed gendered roles and positions could help reshape the attitude and behavior of men towards women and dismantle misrepresentations and gendered divisions; a pro-feminist movement validates the feminist ideology against hierarchical structures and culture of violence associated with patriarchy and constructs a new and positive vision that stands against all forms of institutional and cultural discrimination and oppression; ideally the Kurdish freedom movement in its entirety can be feminized as the ultimate solution to put an end to gendered subjugation and subordination of women. Dr.Amir Sharifi President of the Kurdish American Education Society in Los Angeles, California.
