A Jineology Research Centre has opened in Şêxmeqsud neighbourhood in Aleppo in Syria. Hundreds of women attended the opening event, reports Hawar News.
At the opening event, after holding a moment of silence in remembrance of victims of violence, Kongreya Star Coordination member Zeyneb Efrîn spoke and said: “We feel proud today in opening the Jineology Research Centre in the Şêxmeqsûd neighbourhood of Aleppo, that is a cradle of civilization”.
Efrin noted that women, subjected to harsh oppression throughout history, have not succumbed against the oppression but are carrying out a struggle for a ‘free’ and ‘equal’ life. Zeyneb İbo, another Kongreya Star Coordination member, clarified that women symbolised the Rojava Revolution.
Yasmin Menan, an executive of the centre, stated that the opening of the centre on the birthday of imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan sent a message about his significance and the decisiveness of the women’s struggle. After a number of speeches, the mothers of martyrs cut the ribbon to officially open the centre.
The event continued with traditional halay dances.
Jineology
Jineology is an idea and approach that advocates freedom of women. It is the science of women, and is a form of feminism, of gender equality, advocated by imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan.
From a background of honour-based religious and tribal rules that confined women in Middle Eastern societies, Öcalan stated that “a country can’t be free unless the women are free”. The level of women’s freedom determines the level of freedom in society at large, he noted.