Women Fighters in the Kurdish National Movement: Transforming Gender Politics and the PKK

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement that seeks self-determination from Turkey. This book examines the other changes it generates in society, focusing on how it has become a platform for shifts in gender politics through its women fighters. It is the largest ethnographic study on the PKK to date and argues that Kurdish women fighters are driven by the prospect of improving conditions for themselves and for women across the entire region.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, and the US. While the PKK seeks self-determination from Turkey, this book delves into the profound societal changes it has brought about. Focusing on the role of women fighters within the PKK, it explores how the organization has become a platform for shifts in gender politics. Through extensive fieldwork in Iraq, Syria, and Europe, including in-depth interviews and participant observation within womens camps, the book uncovers the motivations of Kurdish women to join the PKK, as well as their personal life stories and perspectives on gender, patriarchy, and ethnic minority experiences. This is the most comprehensive ethnographic study on the PKK to date, arguing that Kurdish women fighters are driven by a dual desire for their nation's survival and a democratic society, as well as by the aspiration to improve conditions for themselves and women across the entire region.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU, and the US. While the PKK seeks self-determination from Turkey, this book delves into the profound societal changes it has brought about. Focusing on the role of women fighters within the PKK, it explores how the organization has become a platform for shifts in gender politics. Through extensive fieldwork in Iraq, Syria, and Europe, including in-depth interviews and participant observation within womens camps, the book uncovers the motivations of Kurdish women to join the PKK, as well as their personal life stories and perspectives on gender, patriarchy, and ethnic minority experiences. This is the most comprehensive ethnographic study on the PKK to date, arguing that Kurdish women fighters are driven by a dual desire for their nation's survival and a democratic society, as well as by the aspiration to improve conditions for themselves and women across the entire region.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780755648368