Jin, Jiyan, Azadî: The political imagination of the autonomous women's movements in Rojava

• Grant number: 24/15883-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2025
• End date: February 29, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology
• Principal Investigator: Mariana Miggiolaro Chaguri
• Grantee: Beatriz de Tullio Pessoa Ramos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research seeks to characterize the political imagination of the autonomous women's movements in Rojava. To achieve this, it focuses on the slogan of these movements: "woman, life, freedom," and operates on the premise that this imagination results from a dual accumulation: the practice of the movements and the engagement with and critique of feminist theorists and activists from other parts of the world. "Woman," "life," and "freedom" are polysemous categories, and in the context studied, they are shaped by the circulation and transnational coalitions of these movements, creating a landscape of intellectual disputes and debates over their meanings. This political imagination is set against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict faced by the Rojava movements, and specifically by the autonomous women's movements, against the Turkish and Syrian states, as well as the political stance of these movements, which challenges the Western notion of the nation-state as a form of political organization. To conduct this research, a qualitative methodology will be employed, combining bibliographic research, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of primary sources. These sources include the Rojava Social Contract, the theoretical work of Kurdish activists (Jineolojî), the writings of political leader Abdullah Öcalan, the Women's Laws document, and the archives of the International Conferences in Frankfurt (2018) and Berlin (2022). (AU)