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For Kurdish women journalists, Kurdish Journalism Day is even more meaningful as they have created a unique tradition of “women’s journalism” in Turkey with the media organs they helped establish, despite having been subjected to numerous attacks, bans and censorship.
Jin News Agency (JINHA), established by Kurdish women journalists on 8 March 2012 in Turkey’s Diyarbakır (Amed) province, was the first “female-only” media platform in Turkey. JINHA was closed down by a Turkish government decree issued overnight on 29 October 2016.
After JINHA was closed down, Kurdish women continued their media journey through Gazette Şûjin, which was established in December 2016. Şûjin was banned in 2017 by the government, but the new censorship attack did not stop Kurdish women journalists.
Kurdish women journalists have continued to tell the ‘truth’ even if it has caused them to lose their lives in the process. Gurbetelli Ersöz, Şilan Aras, Dilişan İbiş, Deniz Fırat, Nujiya Erhan, Evin Buldan, Şevin Bingöl, Arjin Amed, Armanç Goşkar and many other women journalists are the pioneers of Kurdish women’s journalism.
Most of these courageous journalists lost their lives in the crossfire whilst they were exercising their profession in war zones. They were detained, arrested and tortured by the states but continued to work and told the stories of Kurdish people to the world.
Today, Kurdish women continue to follow this tradition of “women’s journalism” through various media organs, including Jin News, Jin TV, Women’s Voices Magazine, Jina Serbilind, Newaya Jin and Jineloji Magazine. All these women’s media platforms were established by Kurdish women and are aimed at making women’s voices heard.
