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45-531: The school year has three terms, lasting 3-4 months each. The curriculum consists mainly of history and sociology classes. Jineoloji is also taught there. Teaching occurs mainly in Kurdish. There was a book donation drive organised early in the life of the university, which, amongst others, was donated to by AK Press . This DFNS -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Jineology Jineology ( Kurdish : Jineolojî )

90-575: A country which includes all ethnic groups. This would be a model based on human rights instead of religion or race. Our idea of a democratic nation embraces all ethnic groups and cultures. The main principles of democratic confederalism can be summarized in: On June 1, 2005, the PKK officially adopted the democratic confederalism program at the end of the 3rd General Assembly of the People's Congress of Kurdistan ( Kongra Gelê Kurdistan ). Thereafter,

135-527: A critical view of nationalism and the nation-state that led him to interpret peoples' right to self-determination as "the basis for the establishment of a basic democracy, without the need to seek new political frontiers". Based on this, Öcalan proposes that a political solution for the Kurdish people does not involve the foundation of a new national state , but the constitution of a democratic, decentralized and autonomous system of self-organization in

180-406: A democratic nation, woman’s freedom is of great importance too, as liberated woman constitutes liberated society. Liberated society in turn constitutes democratic nation. Moreover, the need to reverse the role of man is of revolutionary importance. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)'s Women’s Liberation Ideology describes jineology as " a fundamental scientific term in order to fill the gaps that

225-417: A means of challenging patriarchy, they are also viewed in contrast to Western feminism, which is associated with capitalism and statism. Despite this, the jineological principles embraced by Kurdish women are concerned with challenging patriarchy and the intersection of patriarchy with other forms of hegemony. Jineology is a discipline that seeks to recover and study knowledge about women in order to challenge

270-590: A separate Kurdish state and instead advocated for democratic confederalism. In 2012, the PYD gained control over a large portion of northern Syria and declared autonomy, implementing self-governance under the model of democratic confederalism. This region, known as Rojava or the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, made up around one fifth of Syrian territory before the Turkish invasion of

315-433: A sharing economy where control of economic resources does not belong to the state, but to society. Although it presents itself as a model opposed to the nation-state, democratic confederalism admits the possibility, under specific circumstances, of peaceful coexistence between both, as long as there is no intervention by the state in the central issues of self-government or attempts at cultural assimilation . Although it

360-524: Is a political concept theorized by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan about a system of democratic self-organization with the features of a confederation based on the principles of autonomy , direct democracy , political ecology , feminism , multiculturalism , self-defense , self-governance and elements of a cooperative economy . Influenced by social ecology , libertarian municipalism , Middle Eastern history and general state theory  [ de ] , Öcalan presents

405-564: Is a form of feminism and of gender equality advocated by Abdullah Öcalan , the representative leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the broader Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) umbrella. From the background of honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women in Middle East societies, Öcalan said that "a country can't be free unless the women are free", and that the level of women's freedom determines

450-488: Is integrated into the region's governance model rather than being treated as a separate issue focused on women's rights. The Jineology-based agenda of "trying to break the honor-based religious and tribal rules that confine women" is controversial and overcoming controversy in conservative quarters of society in northern Syria. The development of Jineology is one of five pillars in the Kurdish women 's movement in Rojava with

495-424: Is not a state system, but a democratic system of the people without a state. With the women and youth at the forefront, it is a system in which all sectors of society will develop their own democratic organisations. It is a politics exercised by free and equal confederal citizens by electing their own free regional representatives. It is based on the principle of its own strength and expertise. It derives its power from

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540-417: Is sometimes translated into English as the science of women or women's science . In Liberating life: Women's Revolution (2013), Abdullah Öcalan writes: The extent to which society can be thoroughly transformed is determined by the extent of the transformation attained by women. Similarly, the level of woman’s freedom and equality determines the freedom and equality of all sections of society. . . . For

585-638: The European Court of Human Rights condemned Turkey for "inhumane treatment" and "unfair prosecution" in the case of Öcalan, calling for a new trial for the Kurdish leader, Öcalan issued "Declaration of Democratic Confederalism in Kurdistan", where he laid the groundwork of democratic confederalism. Later, the concept was further developed and presented in works such as Democratic Confederalism and Manifesto of Democratic Civilization (the latter in four volumes). Democratic confederalism of Kurdistan

630-558: The Kongreya Star umbrella organization, focused "on protecting each other, resisting ISIL and building an egalitarian community in the middle of a warzone." In the instance of ISIL, the YPG/YPJ resisted the organization's sexism. In the context of the Turkish invasion of the area, the YPG/YPJ has engaged in sporadic combat against these state attacks. Self-defense extends into the intellectual domain with Rojava participants claiming

675-700: The Syrian civil war , when the Democratic Union Party ( Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat , PYD) declared the autonomy of three cantons in Syrian Kurdistan that eventually grew into the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria ). Created in the 1970s under the context of Cold War geopolitical bipolarity , the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was initially inspired by national liberation movements across

720-544: The Turkish intelligence services in 1999. Although he is kept in isolation on the prison island of İmralı , Öcalan used his time not only to prepare his defense strategy in the course of the Turkish trial which had sentenced him to death , but also to elaborate his proposals on the Kurdish question and on its political solution. Having access to hundreds of books, including Turkish translations of numerous historical and philosophical texts from Western thought , his plan

765-784: The Kurdish liberation movement began to form clandestine assemblies immediately in Turkey , Syria and Iraq , which in 2007 resulted in the creation of the Kurdistan Communities Union ( Koma Civakên Kurdistan , KCK), the organization established to put into effect Öcalan's concept. The KCK brings together Kurdish political parties such as Democratic Union Party ( Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat , PYD), Kurdistan Free Life Party ( Partiya Jiyana Azad to Kurdistanê , PJAK), and Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party ( Partî Çareserî Dîmukratî Kurdistan , PÇDK); civil society organizations ; and armed groups in all countries in

810-766: The Kurdish militia fighting in the Rojava conflict against the Bashar al-Assad regime and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Syrian Civil War . Women fight alongside men in the People's Protection Units (YPG) as well as in their own Women's Protection Units (YPJ). In the YPJ, women study the political theories of Öcalan, on whose ideology the foundations of the group were laid. For female participants in

855-480: The agents of self-government, allowing individuals and communities to exercise a real influence over their common environment and activities. Inspired by the struggle of women in the PKK, democratic confederalism has feminism as one of its central pillars. Seeing patriarchy as "an ideological product of the national state and power" no less dangerous than capitalism, Öcalan advocates a new vision of society to dismantle

900-440: The belief that women are inferior or "defective" versions of men and to address the exclusion of women from intellectual history. It aims to rehabilitate and value traditionally belittled aspects of female existence, such as "women's work". Jineology recognizes that the nation-state is closely linked to patriarchy and reproduces it because it is inherently hegemonic and masculinist. To describe this interconnectedness, jineologists use

945-439: The concept as a political solution to Kurdish national aspirations, as well as other fundamental problems in countries in the region deeply rooted in class society , and as a route to freedom and democratization for people around the world. Although the liberation struggle of the PKK was originally guided by the prospect of creating a Kurdish nation state on a Marxist–Leninist basis, Öcalan became disillusioned with

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990-439: The current social sciences are incapable of doing. Jineology is built on the principle that without the freedom of women within society and without a real consciousness surrounding women no society can call itself free. " Öcalan has said "a country can't be free unless the women are free", and echoed Charles Fourier , saying that the level of woman's freedom determines the level of freedom in society at large. To put into context

1035-577: The environment this comes from, violent oppression of women exists in the region in general, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) being the most radical emanation of Namus -based subjugation of women. Jineology, a set of principles that includes the rejection of the nation-state system, governance through democratic confederalism, and the promotion of self-sustainability through ecological awareness and collective armament, has been embraced by Kurdish women. While these principles are seen as

1080-611: The form of a confederation . I offer the Turkish society a simple solution. We demand a democratic nation. We are not opposed to the unitary state and republic. We accept the republic, its unitary structure and laicism. However, we believe that it must be redefined as a democratic state respecting peoples, cultures and rights. On this basis, the Kurds must be free to organize in a way that they can live their culture and language and can develop economically and ecologically. This would allow Kurds, Turks and other cultures to come together under

1125-526: The forms of capitalism and the nation-state . Establishing a connection between the ecological crisis and social hierarchy, the American philosopher observes that the social structure of humanity needs to be rethought and transformed from a destructive hierarchical society to an ecological social society that maintains a balance between its parts and whose communities can organize their lives independently. Admiring Bookchin's concepts, Öcalan developed

1170-401: The framework for the autonomous organization of "every community, confessional group, gender specific collective and/or minority ethnic group, among other". It is a model of libertarian socialism and participatory democracy built on the self-government of local communities and the organization of open councils, town councils , local parliaments, and larger congresses, where citizens are

1215-450: The ideas of democratic confederalism. Rejecting both the authoritarianism and bureaucratism of state socialism and the predation of capitalism , seen by Öcalan as most responsible for the economic inequalities , sexism and environmental destruction in the world, democratic confederalism defends a "type of organization or administration can be called non-state political administration or stateless democracy", which would provide

1260-457: The institutional and psychological relations of power currently established in capitalist societies and to ensure that women have a vital and equal role to that of men at all levels of organization and decision-making. Other key principles of democratic confederalism are environmentalism, multiculturalism (religious, political, ethnic and cultural), individual freedoms (such as those of expression , choice and information ), self-defense, and

1305-427: The latter in particular having been inspired by the struggle of women in the PKK and Sakine Cansiz . His greatest theoretical inspirations came from social ecology and libertarian municipalism as formulated by the American anarchist Murray Bookchin . In his works, Bookchin argues that the domination and destruction of nature is the continuation of the domination of human beings by each other, including through

1350-451: The level of freedom in society at large. Jineology is a component of democratic confederalism , a philosophy underpinning the governance of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (also known as Rojava). The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) is an umbrella organization that includes the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and PKK. In 2005, the KCK abandoned its goal of establishing

1395-730: The municipal services and dispatch official correspondence in Kurdish, to reinsert Kurdish names in public places and to spend resources for the development and spread of the Kurdish language. However, these policies made the DTP mayors and deputies targets of judicial harassment, and the Kurdish party was banned by the Turkish Constitutional Court in 2009. It was during the Civil War in Syria that an opportunity arose to implement Ocalan's new political doctrine deeply, after

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1440-559: The nation-state model and state socialism . Influenced by ideas from Western thinkers such as the libertarian municipalist and former anarchist Murray Bookchin , Öcalan reformulated the political objectives of the Kurdish liberation movement , abandoning the old statist and centralizing socialist project for a radical and renewed proposal for a form of libertarian socialism that no longer aims at building an independent state separate from Turkey , but at establishing an autonomous , democratic and decentralized entity based on

1485-415: The people and in all areas including its economy it will seek self-sufficiency. Responding to the needs of the Kurdish movement across Kurdistan , Öcalan's studies resulting in democratic confederalism addressed various aspects of Kurdish society in the fields of anthropology , linguistics , and international politics , international law , as well as introducing a feminist approach called jineology ,

1530-399: The planet, many of whom were influenced by Marxist–Leninist ideals and left-wing nationalism . Over the years, however, the PKK has distanced itself from these ideologies, considering that the Kurdish question was not a mere problem of ethnicity and nationality solved by the revolutionary seizure of state power or the constitution of an independent state . Becoming a major critic of

1575-422: The reconstruction of northern Syria, jineology is seen as superior to Western feminism because it aims to reject all forms of hegemony, including patriarchy and positivism, in order to establish a more sustainable peace. This is because jineology is seen as more holistic and inclusive of all members of society. During the Rojava revolution, both men and women were required to study jineology and ecology, and jineology

1620-486: The region in 2016. The PYD's paramilitary force consists of the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Women's Protection Units (YPJ). The Kurdish women's liberation movement draws heavily upon the theory of Abdullah Öcalan, founder of the PKK. Öcalan coined the term ‘jineology’ and invented democratic confederalism, the system of government implemented in Rojava. In Kurdish , the word jin ( ژن ) means "woman". Jineology

1665-602: The region over the different parts of Kurdistan. Inspired by the project of democratic confederalism, mayors of the Party of the Democratic Society Party ( Demokratik Toplum Partisi , DTP) started a fight for collective rights of a political nature in Turkey through civil disobedience campaigns . Challenging the laws that prohibit the official use of the Kurdish language , these politicians begin to use

1710-575: The right to protect themselves from epistemic attacks by making decisions and generating awareness about themselves. It is for this reason that Women's and Youth Committees were established, with veto power over decisions affecting them; it is also for this reason that women's and asayish academies exist, as well as jineology. Jineology is one of a range of courses offered at Kongreya Star's women's academy. Democratic confederalism Democratic confederalism ( Kurdish : Konfederalîzma demokratîk ), also known as Kurdish communalism or Apoism ,

1755-414: The roof of a democratic nation in Turkey. This is only possible, though, with a democratic constitution and an advanced legal framework warranting respect for different cultures. Our idea of a democratic nation is not defined by flags and borders. Our idea of a democratic nation embraces a model based on democracy instead of a model based on state structures and ethnic origins. Turkey needs to define itself as

1800-546: The term "statism-sexism-powerism" to emphasize the inseparability of these forms of hegemony. Jineology is a fundamental tenet of the KCK's democratic confederalism and as such central to the Kurds ' social revolution taking place in Rojava , their de facto autonomous region in northern Syria, led by the KCK-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD). Consequently, women make up 40% of

1845-415: The very idea of a nation-state and even of national and social liberation from a Marxist–Leninist perspective, Abdullah Öcalan initiated a substantial transition from the Kurdish liberation movement in search of a form of socialism distinct from the statist and centralizing system associated with the former Soviet superpower. This process was consolidated after the capture and arrest of Öcalan by

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1890-479: Was further developed in other publications, such as the four volumes of the Manifesto of Democratic Civilization . Shortly after being released, the declaration was immediately adopted by the PKK, which organized clandestine assemblies in Turkey, Syria and Iraq , which resulted in the creation of the Kurdistan Communities Union ( Koma Civakên Kurdistan , KCK). The first chance to implement it came during

1935-460: Was initially to find theoretical foundations in these works that would justify the PKK's past actions, and to discuss the Kurdish–Turkish conflict within a comprehensive analysis of the development of the nation-state throughout history. Thus, Öcalan began his studies from Sumerian mythology and the origins of Neolithic cultures , as well as from the history of the first city-states . But it

1980-465: Was the readings of thinkers like Friedrich Nietzsche (whom Öcalan calls "the prophet of the capitalist era" ), Fernand Braudel , Immanuel Wallerstein , Maria Mies , Michel Foucault , and particularly Murray Bookchin , , that led him to a definitive break with the Marxist–Leninist socialist perspective and develops a new proposal for a system called "democratic confederalism". In 2005, while

2025-461: Was theorized initially as a new social and ideological basis for the Kurdish liberation movement, democratic confederalism is now presented as an anti-nationalist , multi-ethnic and internationalist movement. The general lines of democratic confederalism were presented in March 2005, through a declaration "to the Kurdish people and the international community" and, in later years, the concept

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