Relocating Kurdish Women within the "International Solidarity Networks": De-Colonial Feminist Dialogues "from Abya Yala to Kurdistan"

In this presentation, I reflect on my experiences as a Kurdish activist and scholar in Argentina, focusing on how decolonial feminist practices in Latin America intersect with the political standpoints of Kurdish women over the past decade. This analysis is structured around three key themes. First, I address the epistemological challenges faced by Kurdish women researchers in validating our insider perspectives within Western and Northern academic institutions, particularly in light of the unrecognized state terrorism against the Kurdish people. I will explore how my academic work in Argentina, a country that officially acknowledges state terrorism, has shaped my understanding of Kurdish women’s activism. Second, I examine the ontological parallels between Indigenous women in Latin America and Kurdish women, both of whom contend with the nation-state. I analyze these struggles through postcolonial and decolonial feminist lenses to better understand how Kurdish women’s activism can be situated within these frameworks. Lastly, I engage with the linguistic dimension, focusing on the ideological act of reclaiming political territories through language. This discussion critiques the nationalist methodologies that dominate social sciences, particularly in the context of stateless peoples like the Kurds. In essence, this presentation explores whether it is possible to discuss women’s movements in the periphery without relying on the epistemological, ontological, and linguistic frameworks of the West and North. Through this exploration, I aim to highlight the evolving transnational dialogues between Kurdish women’s activism and the decolonial feminist movements of Latin America.