Civilians targeted by Turkey tell of their living conditions without electricity and water

In large parts of Northern and Eastern Syria, the population's supply of electricity, water and fuel has collapsed due to Turkish attacks. Women in Qamishlo talked about their living conditions.

Kurdish Red Crescent builds housing for those affected by earthquake in Shahba

The Kurdish Red Crescent is working on a project to build housing units for those affected by the earthquake in al-Shahba district, with donations made by the people of Sulaymaniyah as part of the “We Keep You Comfortable” campaign.

What do we want to re-build? Earth as the source of life, not as an enemy

Mutual support has expanded: from the families, the neighborhoods, friends in the region to all around the world. People self-organizing have proved once more the strength that we, the people, have. This proves the necessity to recover the trust in our capacities; the ability to reflect, overcome and solve problems together; the awareness of our interconnections; the relations and actions that put them into practice; the questioning of our real necessities and aims connected to life.

Syria and Rojava after Maras-centered earthquake

The Maras-centered earthquakes destroyed more than a hundred buildings in Syria and Rojava. 3,581 people lost their lives and 5,348 were injured. Thousands are still under the rubble in the Turkish-occupied areas as the death toll is not disclosed.

Women revive life in Teanê

Women revive life in the Teanê village of Shahba by having a communal life.

Women in NE Syria provide free meals to orphans, poor families

Metbexa El-Firdews (El-Firdews’s Kitchen), a charity organization, has provided free meals to orphans and poor families since its foundation. The organization distributes free meals to anyone in need during Ramadan.

Jineology: Knowledge, experience, and science of women

Jineology literally means “women’s science or the science of women”. The word derives from jin, woman in Kurdish. Jineology is a critique of the approaches of positivist social sciences, which uphold the structures of states, patriarchy, and capital. Jineology is also defined as the “science of life” and “the science that reveals the knowledge structures based on democratic modernity.” With Jineology, women discover their knowledge and experience, and rewrite history while researching the history of women. In the first article of our article series, we give information about Jineology works in Northern and Eastern Syria.

[Video] Voices from Jinwar

This short video is an introduction to the idea behind Jinwar, its meaning, and how it has been lived so far.

First women’s village of 21st century: Jinwar

Jinwar village, which opened on November 25, 2018, is an all-women village. Women building a common life have built a small model of the Democratic Nation in this village. Stating that this village strengthens women, Ruken Rojda says the door of the village is open for all women.

“Women must defend women!”

Women Defend Rojava interviewed Naima Mehmud, co-chair of the Mala Jin (Women’s House) in the canton of Heseke. They talked with her about the work of Mala Jin and how it is influenced by the current Turkish state’s invasion and war and the recent Covid-19 pandemic.

COVID and the Solidarity Ethos in North and East Syria

Crisis and suffering have always had the power to bring clarity. When lives are at stake, competing values are inevitably brought into the sharpest relief. Coronavirus has been no different in this basic sense, but even among crises it is remarkable for the sheer scope of its impact and its truly global reach.

“Letting society solve its own problems”: Developing a New Justice System in Northern Syria

The Syrian regime under the Ba’ath Party of Bashar al-Assad is not only infamous for its war crimes and human rights abuses during the war in Syria, but also held a thick record of systematic violence prior to the uprisings in 2011. Apart from its extensive intelligence apparatus, its law and justice system enshrined authoritarianism and state power in the legal realm. The population of Syria, and minorities in particular, were taught to fear the law as the representative will of the oppressive state. In northern Syria, since the beginning of the revolution in Rojava in 2012, manifold initiatives have been systematically launched to undo the state and its domination not only in the realm of politics and society, but also in the psychology of people, who experienced not only Assad’s regime, but more recently the fascist rule of ISIS. Efforts are led not only in the sphere of law and justice, but also in the realm of grassroots-organizing, education and political, economic and social action. There are many difficulties however. What could an alternative, non-statist justice system look like? Let us take a look at Anja Hoffmann’s observations from an Arabic language justice academy in Tel Marouf…