ŞIRNEX - Asya Yüksel, regarded as the “spirit of women” in Cizîr (Cizre) and remembered for the legacy of resistance she left to the women of Botan, became a symbol through both her life and her struggle.

 

During the curfew declared on 14 December 2015 in response to the people’s self-governance demand in the Cizîr district of Şirnex (Şırnak), which lasted for 79 days, nearly 300 people were killed. One of those killed was Cizîr People’s Assembly Co-Chair Asya Yüksel, who refused to leave the streets, saying, “I am a mother, I cannot abandon my children,” and who was burned to death together with many others in the basement of a house where they were trapped.

 

Born in 1973 in the Qileban (Uludere) district of Şirnex and married at a young age, Asya Yüksel had two children before the age of 20. In 1995, she lost her husband Mehmet Yüksel in a workplace accident and her brother Necmettin Ürün, who had joined the PKK.

 

In 2005, Asya Yüksel began actively participating in political struggle within the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP), the Kurdish political party of the time, in Qileban. She later took an active role in the Democratic Society Party (DTP), which was established after DEHAP was dissolved.

 

FIRST 8 MARCH CELEBRATION IN QILEBAN

 

It was during this period that International Women’s Day on 8 March was celebrated publicly and collectively for the first time in Qileban. Asya Yüksel organised the celebration held on 9 March 2007, attended by hundreds of women. 

 

At the time a DTP district executive in Qileban, Asya Yüksel said in her speech at the event: “In Qileban, which is at the centre of clashes and military operations in the region, women must expose the dirty face of this war and make great efforts for peace. Kurdish and Turkish women alike must join hands and struggle for peace and brotherhood.”

 

After carrying out women’s organising work for many years in Şirnex, Amed (Diyarbakır), Sêrt (Siirt) and Êlih (Batman), Asya Yüksel became Co-Chair of the Cizîr People’s Assembly in 2015. Refusing to leave the streets during the curfew in Cizîr, Asya Yüksel became trapped in the basement of a house she had entered to help the wounded. She was never heard from again and was burned to death there together with her comrades.

 

‘I FOUGHT FOR ALL WOMEN’

 

In her final phone call on 6 February 2016 with her daughter Jiyan Yüksel, whom she called “my angel,” Asya Yüksel said: “My angel, from this moment on, anything may happen. Perhaps none of us will leave here alive and we will be left to die. But the only thing I ask of you is to remain strong and upright, just as I taught you, no matter what happens. I will not tell you not to cry — of course you will cry; I will not tell you not to miss me — of course you will. I carried out this struggle for myself, for you, and for all women. I am always with you. My angel, take very good care of yourself and your brother.”

 

BURIED NEXT TO HER BROTHER

 

Following a mistaken identification at the Urfa Forensic Medicine Institute, Asya Yüksel’s body was confused with that of Azime Yıldızgörer, who had also been killed in another basement in the city. Her body, mistakenly handed over to the Yıldızgörer family, was buried in the Hoser village of Cizîr. 

 

After DNA results confirmed her identity on 10 May 2016, her body was exhumed on 12 May 2016 and reburied beside her brother Necmettin Ürün, who had died in 1995, together with rose seeds. Asya Yüksel was laid to rest accompanied by the song “Sê Jinên Azad,” performed by the singer Delîla, whom she deeply loved.

 

HER FATHER REMEMBERS HER…

 

 

Asya Yüksel’s father, Abdülkerim Ürün (84), said she was loved by everyone and spoke about his daughter. Stating that Asya Yüksel was an extremely conscientious woman, Ürün said she inherited her patriotism from her mother. He noted that she was deeply attached to her mother and learned her patriotism from her.

 

Father Ürün said: “Sometimes she would leave home for party work and remain away for two years because she was so busy she could not come to see us. Her life was the party. She worked for four years in Qileban. She was in Cizîr. Sometimes I would tell her to hold back in order to protect herself, but she would not listen to me and would do whatever she believed needed to be done.”

 

‘STEPS MUST BE TAKEN FOR PEACE’

 

Father Ürün recalled that his daughter was killed despite being a politician and not carrying a weapon, saying that her demand for peace has now become his own. 

 

Referring to the Peace and Democratic Society Process initiated by Kurdish People’s Leader Abdullah Öcalan, he stressed: “No matter what happens, we always say peace. We have always defended and wanted good things. There must be peace so that massacres do not happen. Yet the state still has not taken a step. The way for weapons must be closed and the way for politics must be opened. In this process, we trust Mr Abdullah Öcalan; whatever he says is binding for us as well. I will pursue those who killed my daughter until the end. Those responsible are known. Whoever killed her, we will not let them go.”

 

MA / Emrullah Acar