Beritan Elyakut/JINHA

 AMED – Kurdish women are preparing to celebrate April 4, the birthday of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, with a call for the jailed leader's freedom.

 With one week left until Abdullah Öcalan's birthday, women are finishing preparations. For over ten years now, Kurdish people have marked the day by pouring into Öcalan's native village of Amara in a mass action to demand that the Turkish state release him from jail.

 Elif Kaya, of the Congress of Free Women (KJA), says that April 4 is a day when the Kurdish people celebrate their awakening and their ongoing struggle to freely live their identities. Women are particularly active in this struggle. She says a large delegation will be coming to Amara alongside the influx of everyday Kurds.

 "We know that April 4 is as much the birthday of the Kurdish people's resistance as it is of their leader Apo," she said, using a nickname for the PKK leader. The day has become one for celebrating the struggle and strength of oppressed people.

 "It's notable that women's attendance at April 4 has always been exceptionally high and that women have led the celebrations. Because the leader Apo has drawn a road map for women, women are the ones who want him immediately released and want to see him there in Amara celebrating with them," said Elif.

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