Non-territorial autonomy and gender equality: The case of the autonomous administration of north and east Syria - Rojava

Abstract

The Kurdish-led autonomous entity called Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) – also known as Rojava – considers women’s liberation an imperative condition for shaping a democratic society. The practice of autonomy in NES shares strong resemblances with Non Territorial Autonomy (NTA) models; however, it introduces a novelty in the role of women as active agents in building a plurinational democracy. This paper examines (1) the intellectual and political origins of the political role ascribed to women in autonomous administrations and (2) how the practice of autonomy in Rojava has advanced women’s rights by shedding light on both institutional implementation of women’s rights, as well as the creation of (non)-territorial spaces of women’s emancipation within the autonomous model. The argument made is that the conceptual framework of the Rojava model goes beyond the Kurdish question and can be considered an attempt to resolve a democratic deficit of liberal democratic nation-states through bringing together solutions that address the intertwined subordination of minorities and women.

Autonomna oblast pod upravom Kurda zvaničnog naziva Autonomna uprava Severne i Istoč ne Sirije (NES) – takođe poznata i kao Rožava – smatra oslobođenje žena kao imperativ za oblikovanje demokratskog društva. Autonomne prakse u NES jako podsećaju na neteritori jalne (NTA) modele, ali takođe unose i novine u vidu uloge žena kao aktivnih činilaca u iz gradnji plurinacionalne demokratije. Ovaj rad razmatra (1) intelektualno i političko poreklo političke uloge dodeljene ženama u autonomnoj upravi, i (2) način na koji su autonomne prakse u Rožavi unapredile prava žena time što su bacile svetlost kako na institucionalnu primenu ženskih prava, tako i na stvaranje (ne)teritorijalnih prostora ženske emancipacije unutar autonomnog modela. Iznosi se tvrdnja da konceptualni okvir Rožava modela preva zilazi kurdsko pitanje i može se posmatrati kao pokušaj da se reši problem demokratskog deficita liberalnih demokratskih nacija-država putem objedinjavanja rešenja koja se odnose na isprepletene oblike podređenosti manjina i žena.