Abstract:When Erdogan and his party, the AKP, were elected for the first time in 2002, they made several important pledges. None of these have been fulfilled. On the contrary, in recent years the conflict between Turks and Kurds has increased and societal divisions are at boiling point. Unless relations between Turks and Kurds improve, this article contends that it is not possible to resolve the other pressing issues. Under an Erdogan-led regime Turkey has become a rogue state which is now heading towards civil war. Th… Show more
“…Using insurgency tactics against oppressive state regimes, Kurds have achieved some significant political and military victories against much bigger powers. They have gained rights, lands and more autonomy, step by step, bringing down regimes in ongoing efforts to build their own states (Tas, 2016). However, unlike the Taliban in Afghanistan, Kurds have so far rejected any religion fundamentalism and followed the doctrine of democratic autonomy and gender equality, which are welcomed by the modern western world (Tas, 2019).…”
This article examines the emergence of the neo-Taliban and its encroachment in non-Pashtun regions after the debacle of the old Taliban following the post 9/11 US-led NATO intervention in Afghanistan. It seeks to understand what aspirations drive the neo-Taliban and how they have reframed their ideology after 2001, leading to growing acceptance of a future role for the neo-Taliban in Afghanistan, while foreign-led counterinsurgency seems to fail. The article argues that due to the extremely fractious nature and continuing precariousness of the Afghan political climate, the neo-Taliban could emerge as a formidable power, with an agenda of bringing peace and stability to the entire ‘Af-Pak’ region. However, to what extent the neo-Taliban may be successful in countering widely held perceptions that it is a Pashtun nationalist movement, antagonistic to women, dissent and minorities, remains part of the challenging puzzle, as much for analysts as for the movement itself, which is not trusted in terms of delivering good governance in Afghanistan.
“…Using insurgency tactics against oppressive state regimes, Kurds have achieved some significant political and military victories against much bigger powers. They have gained rights, lands and more autonomy, step by step, bringing down regimes in ongoing efforts to build their own states (Tas, 2016). However, unlike the Taliban in Afghanistan, Kurds have so far rejected any religion fundamentalism and followed the doctrine of democratic autonomy and gender equality, which are welcomed by the modern western world (Tas, 2019).…”
This article examines the emergence of the neo-Taliban and its encroachment in non-Pashtun regions after the debacle of the old Taliban following the post 9/11 US-led NATO intervention in Afghanistan. It seeks to understand what aspirations drive the neo-Taliban and how they have reframed their ideology after 2001, leading to growing acceptance of a future role for the neo-Taliban in Afghanistan, while foreign-led counterinsurgency seems to fail. The article argues that due to the extremely fractious nature and continuing precariousness of the Afghan political climate, the neo-Taliban could emerge as a formidable power, with an agenda of bringing peace and stability to the entire ‘Af-Pak’ region. However, to what extent the neo-Taliban may be successful in countering widely held perceptions that it is a Pashtun nationalist movement, antagonistic to women, dissent and minorities, remains part of the challenging puzzle, as much for analysts as for the movement itself, which is not trusted in terms of delivering good governance in Afghanistan.
“…The empirical context for our specific case study has been rapidly and radically shifting since we conceived of our project in the beginning of 2015. At the time, a peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdish political movement was on its way following peace negotiations (Tas , ). As we have shown elsewhere, these negotiations were problematic and unsuccessful for various complex reasons (Ibid).…”
Section: A Rapidly Shifting Contextmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Ayla Akat, lawyer, former MP and long‐time women's rights activist told us: Sakine Cansız was one of the people directly involved in the creation of different women's branches. Her personal experience of torture in a Turkish prison in the 1980s, and then of the Kurdish guerrilla movement, played an important role in her work for women's rights (Tas ).…”
Feminist scholars have documented with reference to multiple empirical contexts that feminist claims within nationalist movements are often side‐lined, constructed as ‘inauthentic’ and frequently discredited for imitating supposedly western notions of gender‐based equality. Despite these historical precedents, some feminist scholars have pointed to the positive aspects of nationalist movements, which frequently open up spaces for gender‐based claims. Our research is based on the recognition that we cannot discuss and evaluate the fraught relationship in the abstract but that we need to look at the specific historical and empirical contexts and articulations of nationalism and feminism. The specific case study we draw from is the relationship between the Kurdish women's movement and the wider Kurdish political movement in Turkey. We are exploring the ways that the Kurdish movement in Turkey has politicised Kurdish women's rights activists and examine how Kurdish women activists have reacted to patriarchal tendencies within the Kurdish movement.
“…Previous peace talks have left out some important key players, including diaspora Kurds. Internally displaced and international diaspora Kurds often remain politically active when it comes to Turkish-Kurdish issues (Tas 2016a(Tas , 2016b). As we have illustrated previously, transnational political mobilization is gendered in that men and women might have access to different resources and networks and are operating within specific gender norms and relations, both within the country of residence and their country of origin (Al-Ali 2007).…”
Despite the recent outbreak of violence and conflict, peace continues to be high on the agenda of the Kurdish political movement and many progressive Turkish intellectuals and activists. We conducted qualitative multi-sited ethnographic research in Turkey (Istanbul and Diyarbakır) and two diaspora locations (London and Berlin) to examine this mobilization for peace. Our analysis of these interviews shows how Kurdish feminist activists have been struggling to make the eradication of gender-based inequalities and gender-based violence central to the wider political movement for peace. Our interviews also reveal a recent convergence between Kurdish and Turkish women's rights activists where segments of the Turkish feminist movement increasingly recognize that "war is like a blanket" that covers over gender injustices. Both Kurdish and Turkish activists stress the intersections between the process of making peace with the state and the struggle for gender-based equality and justice. Thus, our research points to new openings in the conceptualization of and activism for peace, and women"s rights that bridge the deep ethnic and national divides the Turkish-Kurdish conflict has created. Our conclusions underline the need for a feminist perspective on violence and conflict that accounts for women"s rights activists" visions and strategies for a sustainable and just peace.
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