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Emine Kara, also known as Evîn Goyî, was a member of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) Executive Council and played a leading role in the establishment of the woman-focused democratic system in Kurdish-held northern Syria, known to Kurds as Rojava, before she was murdered in Paris last week.
A 69-year-old Frenchman, William M., opened fire on a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris on Friday, 23 December, killing three people and wounding several others. Kara lost her life on site after being shot in the head and chest, alongside Mîr Perwer and Abdurrahman Kızıl.
Kara was born in 1977 in a village in Şırnak (Şirnêx), along Turkey’s border with Syria. Her village was burned down by Turkish security forces in 1994, along with hundreds of others in the region, as part of Turkey’s campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Kara joined the movement in 1998, a few years after her family was forced to leave their home.
As a member of Kurdish forces, Kara fought against the jihadist Islamic State (ISIS) in northern Syria, and focused on aid work for Yazidi women and children following the invasion of ISIS in 2013 and attacks against the ancient community.
She was an integral part of the foundational efforts during the Rojava Revolution, where Syrian Kurds forged a multi-ethnic system as civil war ravaged the country from 2011 onwards. Kara moved to Europe for treatment after she was wounded in the war against ISIS.
“Women like Evîn built up hope and trust for women and all of society,” Democratic Society Movement (TEV-DEM) Co-chair Rûken Ehmed told Hawar News Agency, using Kara’s nom de guerre. “She put her mark on the women’s movement and the Rojava Revolution. Evîn built women’s institutions and worked to resolve their issues.”
Kara taught at the academies established in North and East Syria, and organised meetings for women. “She was in love with life, in the true sense of the word. She loved life, these lands, and nature itself. She was in love with the country and women. She was in love with science,” Ehmed said.
Before Kara was killed, she was working on the 10-year memorial services of the original Paris massaKAcre. On 9 January 2013, a Turkish intelligence affiliated man shot dead three Kurdish women, Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) founding member Sakine Cansız and activists Leyla Şaylemez and Fidan Doğan, in another Parisian Kurdish locale.
Gunman Ömer Güney died in 2016 of cancer-related complications, but efforts continue to bring to light the full extent of his cooperation with the Turkish MİT. According to journalist Selma Akkaya, Güney had spoken about the cultural centre targeted in Friday’s attack as a possible target for his terrorist act.
Kara “taught us all how women could lead”, Democratic Unity Party (PYD) Executive Committee Member Perwîn Yûsif told Hawar. “She built up great courage in us.”
“This is the same thing that happened in Paris 10 years ago. Kurds know the murderer. Our enemy is the Turkish state, they target any and all who speak Kurdish, whoever feels Kurdish,” Yûsif said.
