The Kurdistan Women's Liberation : Movement Between Violence and Resistance

Kӓser, Isabel

Abstract

The Kurdistan Women’s Liberation Movement (KWLM) has women at the forefront
of its many struggles across the Kurdish Middle East. Amidst ongoing wars and
insecurities female fighters, politicians and activists are trying to build a new system
based on gender equality, radical democracy, sustainable ecology and selfdefence.
According to existing post-colonial and trans-national feminist literature,
militarisation of societies not only leads to greater gender-based violence, but also
shows how women are pushed back into the private sphere in post-conflict
settings. The KWLM claims to be different because its structures and ideology enable
it to sustain women’s gains during and ‘post’-conflict. This thesis examines the claim
of sustainability by tracing the trajectory of the women behind this movement, as well
as their everyday lived experiences. Based on empirical data generated during a multisited
ethnography in Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan in 2015-2016, it asks how female
politicians and activists in Diyarbakir (Turkey) fight for space, how female fighters
in the mountains (Iraqi/Iranian border) learn to become steadfast militants, how martyr
mothers in Maxmur (Iraqi Kurdistan) navigate the terrain between life and death, and
lastly, unpacks the nexus between the movement’s revolutionary body politics and
non-state nationalism. Conceptually, this thesis engages with debates around gender
and war, nationalism and feminism, as well as militarism, body politics and sexuality.
It introduces the concept of militant femininity, a framework of agency women learn
to perform as party subjects. Through the militant femininity lens, this thesis traces
the continuum of violence and resistance the women operate in, examining how both
militancy and femininity are produced, taught, practised, and policed. It analyses the
continuities, contradictions and everyday challenges of this struggle and shows that
while the KWLM holds great emancipatory power, it also sets out an undisputed path
of what liberation should look like.

Citation

Kӓser, I. The Kurdistan Women's Liberation : Movement Between Violence and Resistance. (Thesis). SOAS, University of London

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: May 11, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: May 11, 2020
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.25501/SOAS.00032799
• Additional Information: Number of Pages : 265
• Award Date: Jan 1, 2019