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The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics: Women Politicians Write from Prison
Prison writings from twenty-two Kurdish women who were elected to office in Turkey and then imprisoned by the state on political grounds.
Gültan Kışanak, a Kurdish journalist and former MP, was elected co-mayor of Diyarbakır in 2014. Two years later, the Turkish state arrested and imprisoned her. Her story is remarkable, but not unique. While behind bars, she wrote about her own experiences and collected similar accounts from other Kurdish women, all co-chairs, co-mayors, and MPs in Turkey; all incarcerated on political grounds.
The Purple Colour of Kurdish Politics is a one-of-a-kind collection of prison writings from twenty-two Kurdish women politicians. Here they reflect on their personal and collective struggles against patriarchy and anti-Kurdish repression in Turkey; on the radical feminist principles and practices through which they transformed the political structures and state offices in which they operated. They discuss what worked and what didn’t, and the ways in which Turkey’s anti-capitalist and socialist movements closely informed their political stances and practices.
Demonstrating Kurdish women’s ceaseless political determination and refusal to be silenced – even when behind bars – the book ultimately hopes to inspire women living under even the most unjust conditions to engage in collective resistance.
Gültan Kışanak, a Kurdish journalist and former MP, was elected co-mayor of Diyarbakır in 2014. Two years later, the Turkish state arrested and imprisoned her. Her story is remarkable, but not unique. While behind bars, she wrote about her own experiences and collected similar accounts from other Kurdish women, all co-chairs, co-mayors, and MPs in Turkey; all incarcerated on political grounds.
The Purple Colour of Kurdish Politics is a one-of-a-kind collection of prison writings from twenty-two Kurdish women politicians. Here they reflect on their personal and collective struggles against patriarchy and anti-Kurdish repression in Turkey; on the radical feminist principles and practices through which they transformed the political structures and state offices in which they operated. They discuss what worked and what didn’t, and the ways in which Turkey’s anti-capitalist and socialist movements closely informed their political stances and practices.
Demonstrating Kurdish women’s ceaseless political determination and refusal to be silenced – even when behind bars – the book ultimately hopes to inspire women living under even the most unjust conditions to engage in collective resistance.
- GenresNonfictionPoliticsWomens
272 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 20, 2023
„No walls have the power to suppress that growing resistance“ - Dilek H.
The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics contains a collection of texts written by 22 female Kurdish politicians behind Turkish bars.
It focuses on their experiences as Kurdish politicians in a society that is inherently patriarchal (and racist), but also their experiences within their own party and their personal lives as women, where they also faced a hella lot of hardships and misogynistic prejudices - this book heavily focuses on the political aspects of the lives of these women.
It starts with a short history of the Kurdish parties in Turkey and gives us an insight into the obstacles these politicians went through, which is important to read in order to understand their hard work.
These women have completely redefined politics and feminism and show us what can be achieved when women get together and don’t just wait for this patriarchal system to give them visibility, but simply overcome patriarchy and create this space for themselves and take what is rightfully theirs.
What surprised me the most were the many Alevi voices.
Unfortunately, Alevis are always neglected; they are hardly given the space to express themselves and create visibility for their struggle as a religious minority facing a hella lot of prejudices and hate, so I was surprised to find out that some of these Alevi women have become co-mayors of cities that are considered very patriarchal, Muslim and conservative - this shows once again what women can be capable of when they support each other and take matters into their own hands instead of standing on the sideline waiting to be let speak.
The perspectives of Muslim women who come from conservative families and are rather conservative themselves were also new for me.
I’ve always wondered how these women get involved in a party like this and what difficulties they face and where there are disagreements with their own religion.
This book was empowering through and through and helped me in gaining a better understanding of all the obstacles and the patriarchal bullshit these Kurdish politicians were fighting their way through.
Imo this book is a must-read if you call yourself a feminist ✨
The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics contains a collection of texts written by 22 female Kurdish politicians behind Turkish bars.
It focuses on their experiences as Kurdish politicians in a society that is inherently patriarchal (and racist), but also their experiences within their own party and their personal lives as women, where they also faced a hella lot of hardships and misogynistic prejudices - this book heavily focuses on the political aspects of the lives of these women.
It starts with a short history of the Kurdish parties in Turkey and gives us an insight into the obstacles these politicians went through, which is important to read in order to understand their hard work.
These women have completely redefined politics and feminism and show us what can be achieved when women get together and don’t just wait for this patriarchal system to give them visibility, but simply overcome patriarchy and create this space for themselves and take what is rightfully theirs.
What surprised me the most were the many Alevi voices.
Unfortunately, Alevis are always neglected; they are hardly given the space to express themselves and create visibility for their struggle as a religious minority facing a hella lot of prejudices and hate, so I was surprised to find out that some of these Alevi women have become co-mayors of cities that are considered very patriarchal, Muslim and conservative - this shows once again what women can be capable of when they support each other and take matters into their own hands instead of standing on the sideline waiting to be let speak.
The perspectives of Muslim women who come from conservative families and are rather conservative themselves were also new for me.
I’ve always wondered how these women get involved in a party like this and what difficulties they face and where there are disagreements with their own religion.
This book was empowering through and through and helped me in gaining a better understanding of all the obstacles and the patriarchal bullshit these Kurdish politicians were fighting their way through.
Imo this book is a must-read if you call yourself a feminist ✨
September 22, 2024
"The story of one of us is the story of all of us" - Sadiye Süer Baran
After a brief overview of the historical and political contexts of Turkey's mass arrests of Kurdish politicians, this book is devoted to a series of 22 tiny autobiographies of women prisoners whose only crime was fighting for freedom as women and as Kurds. The quote above, which is the opening line of chapter 16, sums it up well—the same themes, challenges, and journeys are found in chapter after chapter, a tapestry woven of purple threads containing suffering but also the joy and power found in spite of it.
It is interesting to see how the stories blur together at the edges, a unity in struggle and experience, but are also illuminated by personal anecdotes, reflections, and experiences. All became co-mayors or MPs in the face of patriarchal opposition; all had to reshape narratives around who wields power and how it is used; all had their freedom stripped from them, unconstitutionally and in breach of international law, for standing up for their constituents. Many are Alevis, offering insight into another dimension of oppression erased by permitted government narratives. Some were entering offices so steeped in systemic misogyny that noone had even thought to build a women's toilet in the town hall.
Reflecting on what these stories could teach other international struggles, I can't help but see the dwell on the fact that all the women also had to fight for space in their various political vehicles—even in parties founded on progressive values of feminism and socialism, men frequently refused to accept women speaking for themselves. Cough, the Labour party's position on literally any minority, cough. In many ways, and I'm sure I've already said this in reviews of other Kurdish histories, it is striking how much more effective and unified the Kurdish feminist struggle is than that of the UK, where feminist discourse is much more polluted by alienation, corporate takeover, and complacency (as is all other politics). Something like the education groups organised by Kurdish women would still be hugely beneficial here, as would the normalisation of the quotas and co-chairing that they've fought to implement. The ways various Kurdish groups have constructed grassroots political models of radical decentralised democracy is something every western nation would benefit from studying.
After a brief overview of the historical and political contexts of Turkey's mass arrests of Kurdish politicians, this book is devoted to a series of 22 tiny autobiographies of women prisoners whose only crime was fighting for freedom as women and as Kurds. The quote above, which is the opening line of chapter 16, sums it up well—the same themes, challenges, and journeys are found in chapter after chapter, a tapestry woven of purple threads containing suffering but also the joy and power found in spite of it.
It is interesting to see how the stories blur together at the edges, a unity in struggle and experience, but are also illuminated by personal anecdotes, reflections, and experiences. All became co-mayors or MPs in the face of patriarchal opposition; all had to reshape narratives around who wields power and how it is used; all had their freedom stripped from them, unconstitutionally and in breach of international law, for standing up for their constituents. Many are Alevis, offering insight into another dimension of oppression erased by permitted government narratives. Some were entering offices so steeped in systemic misogyny that noone had even thought to build a women's toilet in the town hall.
Reflecting on what these stories could teach other international struggles, I can't help but see the dwell on the fact that all the women also had to fight for space in their various political vehicles—even in parties founded on progressive values of feminism and socialism, men frequently refused to accept women speaking for themselves. Cough, the Labour party's position on literally any minority, cough. In many ways, and I'm sure I've already said this in reviews of other Kurdish histories, it is striking how much more effective and unified the Kurdish feminist struggle is than that of the UK, where feminist discourse is much more polluted by alienation, corporate takeover, and complacency (as is all other politics). Something like the education groups organised by Kurdish women would still be hugely beneficial here, as would the normalisation of the quotas and co-chairing that they've fought to implement. The ways various Kurdish groups have constructed grassroots political models of radical decentralised democracy is something every western nation would benefit from studying.
February 8, 2023
I read The Purple Color of Kurdish Politics: Women Politicians Write from Prison as part of a Kurdish book club. I knew the book would be a throwback to my Political Science classes in college. I always found books dry, but there was always valuable information in them and I would always carry some kernel of wisdom from them. This book was written by the politicians themselves, so each woman's story carries each own kernel of memorable wisdom. There are so many great stories within this book and I am so glad that I took the time to read it.
The common thread that runs through all the stories is the persecution all of the women suffered. Everyone was prosecuted for doing the jobs they were elected to do. For an American, this is very hard to understand since none of the behavior was criminal by our standards. There was a single sentence in the story of Evin Keve, She was arrested on charges of "having the potential to declare self-governance." I think that says it all. Turkey's fear that the Kurds might govern themselves so well that they decide to separate from the Ankara power structure is the root of all of the arrests, all illegal and immoral.
I wish that everyone interested in the Kurdish question would read this book. It sheds light on some details which are not widely known in the U.S. Any doubts I had that Erdogan is a dictator were erased by this book. The methods the powerful use to hold onto power at the expense of their people never ceases to amaze me. Erdogan is a case study of a person who will do anything to retain his power. We should all remember that as we watch the Turkish government's response to the February 2023 earthquakes. The stories of the women politicians that he has imprisoned will illuminate all the cynicism and racism at the root of Turkish politics.
The common thread that runs through all the stories is the persecution all of the women suffered. Everyone was prosecuted for doing the jobs they were elected to do. For an American, this is very hard to understand since none of the behavior was criminal by our standards. There was a single sentence in the story of Evin Keve, She was arrested on charges of "having the potential to declare self-governance." I think that says it all. Turkey's fear that the Kurds might govern themselves so well that they decide to separate from the Ankara power structure is the root of all of the arrests, all illegal and immoral.
I wish that everyone interested in the Kurdish question would read this book. It sheds light on some details which are not widely known in the U.S. Any doubts I had that Erdogan is a dictator were erased by this book. The methods the powerful use to hold onto power at the expense of their people never ceases to amaze me. Erdogan is a case study of a person who will do anything to retain his power. We should all remember that as we watch the Turkish government's response to the February 2023 earthquakes. The stories of the women politicians that he has imprisoned will illuminate all the cynicism and racism at the root of Turkish politics.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews