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2026 - Volume 10 - Number 1

Women in Rojava between the Governance Philosophy of Syrian Kurdistan and the Utopia of Öcalanism

Vladimir Stefanov Chukov * ORCID: 0000-0002-4544-3708
The University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev”, Faculty of Business and Management, European Studies Department, Ruse, BULGARIA

Tatyana Vasileva Petkova * ORCID: 0000-0003-4567-8635
South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Faculty of Philosophy, Blagoevgrad, BULGARIA

Open Journal for Studies in Philosophy, 2026, 10(1), 33-44 * https://doi.org/10.32591/coas.ojsp.1001.04033c
Received: 1 February 2026 ▪ Revised: 17 June 2026 ▪ Accepted: 6 July 2026

LICENCE: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

ARTICLE (Full Text - PDF)

ABSTRACT:

Kurdish women are often portrayed as among the freest when compared to women in other Muslim societies, yet a central debate remains as to whether this—particularly in the Syrian context—results from the ideology of Abdullah Öcalan or from remnants of older matriarchal traditions. Scholarly assessments are divided: external (non-Kurdish) researchers sometimes offer more generalized and positive conclusions, including references to Vladimir Minorsky’s claim that attitudes toward women serve as an indicator of a people’s moral order. Nonetheless, Kurdish society, like many traditional societies in the Middle East, remains structurally patriarchal. In Iraq and Turkey, more negative practices are frequently reported—such as female genital mutilation and so-called honor killings—often explained by the longer historical entrenchment of Kurdish communities in those regions. The study situates gender relations within a historical-sociological framework, tracing the impact of the Ottoman period and earlier political formations. During the Ayyubid and Mamluk eras, political authority in the Islamic world was often exercised by non-Arab elites, which in certain cases enabled aristocratic women to participate in philanthropy, education, and institution-building (e.g., mosque-schools). The Ottoman arrangements for governing Kurdish regions (1514–1851) strengthened tribal and clan-based structures, in which loyalty to lineage competed with religious loyalty and social order was regulated through custom and sanction. This produced a paradox: relatively freer social interaction between the sexes could coexist with strict codes of “honor” and severe penalties disciplining women’s sexuality and behavior. Focusing on Syria, the analysis highlights the importance of education and political regimes. While there are examples of women’s activity in religiously based schooling (al-katatib), women’s systematic marginalization was reinforced by limited access to education and the dominance of formalistic religious-legal interpretations. After the Baʿath Party came to power (1963–2024), discriminatory policies toward Kurds—especially the consequences of the 1962 census in Hasakah—generated mass statelessness that disproportionately affected women through unregistered marriages, legal insecurity for children, restricted access to healthcare and education, and repression of the Kurdish language and activism. Against this backdrop, women’s participation in official politics often remained symbolic and quota-based. The core argument is that the enhanced role of women in Rojava cannot be convincingly explained by “residual matriarchy,” but rather by an ideological confrontation with clan conservatism through the Öcalanian project: the program for women’s liberation, the concept of Jineolojî, and institutionalized mechanisms for women’s participation (quotas, co-chair systems, women’s bodies, and legal reforms). Finally, the text addresses the media dichotomy between the heroization of Kurdish women fighters and the victimization of women enslaved by ISIS as part of a broader struggle over meaning and legitimacy in the region.

KEY WORDS: Kurdish women, Öcalanism, Patriarchy, Rojava, women’s liberation.

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR:
Tatyana Vasileva Petkova, South-West University “Neofit Rilski”, Faculty of Philosophy, Blagoevgrad, BULGARIA.

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