The Kurdish-led Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) challenge the systemic invisibility of women in the Middle East, according to Brazilian researcher Letícia Gimenez in an interview with Özgür Politika’s Miheme Porgebol on 18 July.
Letícia Gimenez, a researcher at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, emphasised the defiant stance of the YPJ in the face of gender oppression in the Middle East. Gimenez, whose dissertation examines how Jineolojî and the YPJ combat gender violence in Afrin (Efrin), stated, “In the Middle East, where women are rendered invisible, the YPJ defies this norm.”
Gimenez’s research is part of her master’s degree at the Interinstitutional Graduate Program in International Relations. Her work involves online interviews with members of the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Rojava and analyses the Turkish occupation of Afrin through Abdullah Öcalan’s critiques and Jineolojî principles. She pointed out that violence against Kurdish women and their land is intertwined, suggesting that “the liberation of the land necessitates the liberation of women.”
The researcher also noted the historical commitment of the PKK to women’s freedom and how this commitment is reflected in their revolutionary activities. “By engaging in armed revolution within a guerrilla movement, Kurdish women resist both state authority and patriarchal dominance,” she explained.
Gimenez highlighted that in Rojava, gender equality is not merely a goal but a foundational element of democratic confederalism. She stressed that initiatives like Mala Jins and Jinwar are integral to the revolution, extending beyond the global media’s portrayal of female fighters. “The revolution permeates the entire societal structure, integrating gender equality into the core of the revolutionary process,” she added.
Her work also critiques the Western media’s sensationalist portrayal of YPJ fighters, which often ignores their broader struggle and historical context. “The media’s depiction of YPJ fighters as ‘heroines’ glamorises and sexualises them, missing the critical aspects of their fight against ISIS,” she said.
