TJA 5TH ORDINARY CONFERENCE FINAL DECLARATION

We held our 5th ordinary conference with enthusiasm, determination and a strong sense of purpose on January 24-26, 2025, in Amed, with the participation of 201 delegates. We dedicate this conference, which concluded with significant decisions, to all women revolutionaries who have sacrificed their lives, especially our comrades Sara, Gülistan Tara, Hero, and Cihan.

This conference served as a platform to deeply discuss our fundamental agenda for building a democratic, ecologically sustainable, and liberatory model of life. Our commitment to struggle has been reinforced, and we have made strong resolutions towards establishing a free and just society.

The Capitalist Modernity System Has Declared All-Out War on Women’s Existence!

The ancient lands we inhabit have been nurtured by the wisdom of our foremothers, sprouting through the resilience of women and flourishing through generations of resistance. Throughout history, our people have risen to defend our existence—sometimes as Besê, sometimes as Zarife, sometimes as Sara. Today, as we continue this fight, we find ourselves suffocating under the statist civilization, confronting wars of denial even in the 21st century.

In this ongoing process, the global conflicts we term the “Third World War”—raging in Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria—have intensified exhaustion and suffering. While these wars are presented as interstate conflicts, in reality, they are attacks by capitalist modernity against all democratic societal forces, especially women. The rise of sexism, nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and fascism, fueled by capitalist modernity, has turned into systematic social massacres. This is particularly evident in the regions where Salafi-jihadist groups operate, but similar patterns of repression and violence are also emerging globally through the rise of fascist regimes. Policies of femicide continue as a means to entrench poverty, oppression, and social subjugation in different geographies.

The fascist AKP-MHP alliance, following the collapse of the Baath regime in Syria, is targeting the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, aiming to suppress the Kurdish people’s aspirations for self-determination. These attacks, driven by anti-Kurdish hostility, seek to dismantle the women’s revolution in Rojava and to destroy the coexistence of free peoples while reinforcing the nation-state model.

The patriarchal system, which thrives on oppression, aims to erase our historical memory of resistance. By targeting the free women’s movement, they attempt to suppress the spirit of liberation that has taken root in these lands. Our conference strongly condemns the attacks of Turkey-backed SMO gangs in Syria, the drone strikes against civilians defending the Tishrin Dam, and the massacres of Zennubia Women’s Community members. We pledge to continue our struggle against these crimes against humanity.

Breaking the Isolation System and Ensuring the Physical Freedom of the Kurdish People’s Leader

Our conference reaffirmed that the foundation of our fight lies in building a new confederal system. A key aspect of this is securing the physical freedom of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan. The deepening system of isolation imposed on him is directly linked to the crises plaguing our region—from femicide to economic collapse, from cultural suppression to ecological destruction. Without dismantling this system of isolation, it is impossible to fully realize a democratic, ecological, and women’s liberation paradigm. Our conference commits to increasing the efforts and the fight against the Imrali prison system and ensuring Mr. Öcalan’s freedom.

Our Self-Defense Against Specifically Designed War Policies: Building Women’s Confederalism!

The regime’s intensifying specifically designed war policies in Kurdistan—including systematic harassment, rape, forced prostitution, and the erosion of social values—particularly target young women. These tactics are designed to strip society of its identity and values. In response, our Women’s Freedom Movement remains committed to self-defense, raising awareness, and reclaiming our identity. As TJA women, we reaffirm our determination to defend our existence in every sphere of struggle, to organize, and to construct a liberated society without compromise.

The patriarchal system continues its destructive policies in all areas of life, deepening poverty, forcing migration, rendering people stateless and displaced, and subjecting women to violence and oppression. Women are being murdered, harassed, and raped every day across the world and in our region. The struggle for the very existence of women, whose labor is devalued and whose role is reduced to reproduction and servitude, has become a central challenge to the status quo. This is why Kurdish women, along with Turkish feminists and leftist-socialist movements, face constant repression, detentions, and attacks. The unresolved fate of Gülistan Doku, the uninvestigated murder of Narin, and the suspicious death of Rojin Kabaiş in Van highlight the urgency of raising our voices in resistance.

The only way to overcome the crises that engulf our lives and to reclaim ethical and aesthetic values is through collective struggle. By addressing these crises through the framework of a democratic nation, we are advancing the construction of an inclusive society. Our conference discussed strategies for strengthening our communes and assemblies in every sphere of life, from villages to urban neighborhoods. By developing self-defense mechanisms rooted in Jineology, we will bring this new way of life into reality by institutionalizing the confederal system.

We are committed to establishing:

• A free and equal coexistence to counter crisis-ridden economies that exploit both women and men.
• A democratic family model to challenge the regressive structures that reinforce patriarchal oppression.
• A co-presidency system to replace centralization and authoritarianism in politics.
• A new way of life that fosters the free coexistence of diverse democratic beliefs, standing against religious dogmatism.
• A communal economy based on democratic principles, countering capitalist exploitation.
• Ecological consciousness to resist the plundering of nature.
• Broad-based women’s alliances to stand against fascism and all forms of oppression.
• A women’s confederalism that embodies all these principles.

This construction process will be led by women, ensuring that knowledge is no longer monopolized by patriarchal ideology. We will create spaces for study, research, and collective learning, transforming every home, street, village, and neighborhood into sites of knowledge and empowerment.

Our conference, guided by these principles, aims to propel the women’s revolution forward in the 21st century, ensuring that the multiple crises imposed by the system are resolved through the realization of a free life. The vision of Women’s Confederalism, grounded in the democratic, ecological, and women’s liberation paradigm, is more attainable than ever.

At a time when the slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” is resonating across the globe, we must amplify our organizational mobilization, drawing strength from our comrades who have sacrificed for this cause. Our movement, built on the rich cultural heritage of our peoples, has grown like a river of resistance, flowing from the 1990s to today. Our conference marks the transformation of this movement into a global Women’s Confederalism—committed to resisting femicide, organizing against patriarchal violence, and expanding the struggle for women’s liberation.

With the spirit of “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi,” our ideology is clear. It is the fire that lights our path, the heartbeat of those who live in freedom. Our conference concludes with a salute to all women and peoples resisting oppression in Rojava and beyond.

Tevgera Jinen Azad (TJA)