The Jineolojî Academy held its second conference in North and East Syria (Rojava) on 25-26 September, under the theme ‘Women’s Wisdom, Renewed with Jineolojî’. The conference brought together over 300 women from Kurdish, Arab, Armenian, Circassian and Assyrian communities to discuss the ongoing women’s revolution and the role of Jineolojî—the science of women—in societal transformation.
Hêja Zerya, a member of the Jineolojî Academy, spoke to our correspondent about the significance of the conference and the developments in Jineolojî over the last six years. “There is no path to freedom except by insisting on an independent existence, and Jineolojî is the key to that freedom,” Zerya stated, emphasising that the academy’s work has expanded from research centres to university programmes and women’s cooperatives across North and East Syria.
Despite challenges such as the war in Afrin (Efrin), Zerya explained that Jineolojî has continued to build intellectual and social structures, including the establishment of Jineolojî departments in universities and women’s villages such as Jinwar, which serves as a sanctuary for women reclaiming their traditional knowledge. “The ‘Shifajin’ healing centre at Jinwar is an essential part of reviving women’s lost healing knowledge and sharing it with the community,” she added.
The conference covered five key topics, including self-defence, the role of Jineolojî in the women’s revolution, and its expansion across the Middle East. A strong emphasis was placed on expanding academic programmes and organising knowledge systems to support the broader women’s movement. “Our focus is on creating an intellectual foundation for the revolution,” Zerya explained, noting the importance of collective learning and women-led sociological research.
Zerya stressed that the philosophy of Öcalan and the slogan ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadî’ (Woman, Life, Freedom) remain central to the movement’s vision. “We aim to build free living spaces and strengthen the cultural depth of women’s resistance, connecting local struggles with global women’s movements,” she said.
The conference concluded with a renewed commitment to building on the legacy of women martyrs and continuing to develop Jineology as a tool for societal change, bringing Öcalan’s philosophy to wider audiences and dismantling patriarchal systems.
Jineology, or ‘the science of women’, is a feminist social science framework developed by the Kurdish women’s movement, particularly influenced by the ideas of Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The term comes from the Kurdish word jin, meaning woman, and logos, meaning science or study. Jineology aims to challenge and deconstruct patriarchal systems and dominant ideologies by promoting a women-centred worldview that reclaims knowledge, history and social roles that have been suppressed or distorted by male-dominated narratives.
Jineology proposes a holistic understanding of women’s roles in society, focusing on areas such as history, culture, ecology, health, economics and ethics. It seeks to offer an alternative to traditional social sciences, which are often criticised for perpetuating gender inequalities. This approach emphasises the centrality of women’s liberation for broader societal freedom and aims to create a more equitable, communal society by integrating feminist principles into every aspect of life, including politics, education and social organisation.
In practice, Jineology has been applied in various parts of Kurdish society, particularly in Northern Syria (Rojava), through the establishment of women’s cooperatives, educational programs and communal structures that promote equality, self-governance and ecological sustainability.
