JINHA

ŞIRNEX – Fatma Uyar, a women’s rights activist with the KJA, was among three Kurdish women politicians slain in the town of Silopi on Monday. Fatma’s friends and family tell the story of a young woman determined never to surrender to patriarchy.

On Monday, as Turkish state forces maintained a bloody 24-hour curfew in the town of Silopi, three Kurdish women politicians were slain as they tried to flee the attacks. One of the women now called “the three flowers of freedom” was Fatma Uyar. Friends say her young life was characterized by resistance.

Fatma was born on August 28, 1988 in the village of Duhok on the slopes of Mt. Gabar, in Kurdistan’s Botan region. She was the second of seven children in her family. Her family then moved to the provincial capital of Şırnak. In 2009, she was sent to prison for five years after becoming politically active in the town. Her father Reşit also ended up in the same prison one year later. After being released in 2010, Fatma immediately returned to her work in Botan, becoming an activist with the women’s rights organization KJA in the town of Silopi two months ago.

On January 4, 2016, Fatma was in Silopi, where the people of Kudistan were facing a brutal state of martial law after having announced self-government in the town. As soldiers and police attacked the town with tanks and artillery, Fatma and two other active Kurdish women—Sêvê Demir and Pakize Nayir—were slain. Just three years ago tomorrow, three other active Kurdish women—Sakine Cansız, Leyla Şaylemez and Fidan Doğan—had been assassinated in Paris. Once again, three women who stood up to the patriarchy’s guns were assassinated for their rebellion.

“She would always tell me, “beautiful woman, always stay on your feet; never surrender to men,’” recalled Fatma’s younger sister, Sultan. She said her sister was always alive and kicking, and “would never fit in anywhere” and was now her own model for life. The last time Sultan saw her sister was a month and a half ago, when her sister spontaneously took her on a picnic. Then, she got the news that Fatma was wounded and headed out. When she stopped on the road to Silopi, she saw on the news ticker that three women had been killed. Fatma’s name was among them.

“It’s because I carry the greatness of her heart inside me that I love her this much,” said Sultan.

Fatma’s childhood friend Felek Çakar said that although they grew up together, it was only when the two women both became involved in activism in Şırnak that they became close, always going to rallies together.

“She would always tell me, ‘don’t get married, don’t yield to men,’” said Felek. “When she was in prison, she was always saying go, get involved. When she saw me working so actively when she got out, she was really happy.” Felek described her last conversation with Fatma.

“The last time she called, she talked about the Silopi resistance. And she said, ‘I’ve got this feeling like I’m going to be martyred,’” said Felek.

(dk-aı/fk/cm)