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The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan: Kurdistan, Woman's Revolution and Democratic Confederalism

Translated from Kurdish, Abdullah Öcalan’s text is revolutionary in its theoretical framework for Kurdish independence and politics. Öcalan was the head of the PKK and led the Kurdish liberation struggle from its inception in 1978 until he was imprisoned in 1999 by the Turkish government. In isolation he began writing and shaping a new and profound political ideology. He challenges the current nation-state model through an anti-capitalist and woman-centered framework, developing “democratic modernity”, which emphasizes communality and the importance of human relationships. Öcalan feels that history can be told in terms of sexual ruptures, explaining how patriarchy came to dominate social structures and established violent authoritarianism. In order to escape this, the dominant male needs to be killed. He proposes a radical framework of jineologî, or women’s science, derived from the Kurdish word for woman, jin, and the root being, jiyan, meaning life. This framework sees women’s liberation as the key to liberation for all Kurds and the establishment of a democratic Kurdish state with women in power. In addition, a successful society is led by the emotional intelligence that women have, instilling principles of care and egalitarianism. This text truly challenges the Western nation-state model and political framework in a radically woman-centered way.

Öcalan, Abdullah, and Havin Güneşer. The Political Thought of Abdullah Öcalan: Kurdistan, Woman's Revolution and Democratic Confederalism. International Initiative edition, 2017.

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