Globally renowned prominent Indian activist Abha Bhaiya has hailed the Kurdish women’s frontline struggle as an extraordinary effort for democracy and equality.
Bhaiya’s remarks, made in a recent interview, underline the importance of women-led grassroots movements in transforming paradigms of governance and challenging prevailing norms of violence and oppression.
“I think this is one of the extraordinary feminist struggles for democracy, for equality, really thinking absolutely in a new paradigm about how we can create a world that is different from the world today that exists,” Bhaiya said, highlighting the transformative potential of the Kurdish women’s movement.
Central to her praise was the Kurdish women’s commitment to promoting a world of peace, responsibility and solidarity. She emphasised the urgent need to transcend mainstream definitions of civilisation, which she saw as antithetical to peace, and to advocate instead for a new world order rooted in dignity and justice for all.
“The relevance of the Kurdish women’s frontline struggle to create a world that challenges all these violations and violence and talks about a world where there’s peace, where there’s care, where there’s also a sense of responsibility to each other… that’s an imagination that we all need to follow,” Bhaiya remarked, urging the widespread adoption of the Kurdish feminist model.
The activist called for cross-border dialogue and cooperation between feminist movements worldwide, stressing the importance of solidarity across different struggles, including labour rights, environmentalism and advocacy of human rights. She emphasised the need for collective action to challenge entrenched power structures and envision alternative forms of governance.
“The feminist movement, the global feminist movement must learn from the Kurdish feminist movement… Let the feminist movement in Kurdistan show us the way forward,” Bhaiya declared, expressing her commitment to promoting dialogue and collaboration across international feminist networks.
She also expressed support for the global campaign for freedom for Abdullah Öcalan and a political solution to the Kurdish question. Bhaiya praised Öcalan’s feminist stance and emphasised the importance of his paradigm as a vital alternative to the capitalist system.
According to Bhaiya, Öcalan’s historical analyses and advocacy of a federal model of governance offer hope for a different world order in which women’s emancipation is central to overcoming the ills of capitalist civilisation. She asserted that Öcalan could lead to a different world order and called for his voice to be heard again, emphasising the need for a world where everyone belongs.
Bhaiya, with over 40 years of experience in women’s movements, primarily in India, has significantly contributed to feminist education methodologies and has led various community programmes through TARA, a feminist retreat in the Himalayas. She currently serves as the national coordinator for One Billion Rising in India and has authored books on women’s rights and feminist struggles.
