The Statement of the Kurdish Women's Enlightenment Movement
on the "Charter of Solidarity and Organization for Freedom"
The "George Town Group" has published a charter entitled "Charter of Solidarity and Organization for Freedom" on March 9th, 2023. Due to the unfair monopoly of the media by some members of this group, this text received more attention than it deserved. It is obvious to everyone that the Jina revolution is a revolution against totalitarianism, patriarchy, and centrism. This charter is in clear contradiction with Jina from the beginning of the text. Mentioning the imposed name "Mahsa" instead of the real name "Jina" was a manifestation of the dominance of the central language over the language of the periphery, and it shows no sign of solidarity with peripheral ethnic groups. This hegemonic attempt can be seen not only in the title but also in the entire text of the charter. On the other hand, the emphasis on foreign activities and the attempt to attract international attention to this charter has overshadowed the central role of people, activists, civil society, trade unions, and social organizations inside the country. This literature creates this misconception that the revolution is from outside and is only led and administered by this group.
The content of this charter, which was named "Mahsa Charter" (Charter of Solidarity and Organization for Freedom) with linguistic trickery, has caused concern and dissatisfaction among many Kurdish people, activists, and other ethnic groups because it shows no sign of trying to promote the Jina revolution and the brave resistance of women (Transgender, Cisgender, and Non-binary), youth, and peripheral ethnic groups in Iran.
This manifesto, which was also signed by Abdollah Mohtadi, the Secretary General of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, is in fact the same as the Mashrouteh Party of Iran, which as a nationalist party seeks to revive the monarchy system in Iran (One Party, One Nation, the same slogan of the Rastakhiz Party). The influence of the Mashrouteh Party of Iran is very clear and traceable in this manifesto.
A: In the fifth congress of the Mashrouteh Party of Iran, it is stated that "The Mashrouteh Party of Iran proposes a referendum on the future liberal democratic constitution (which includes the Charter of Human Rights, the powers and limits of government authorities, the powers of the central and local governments, the guarantee of the implementation of the constitution, the election laws, and the form of government, whether it be a parliamentary republic or a monarchy) based on the recognition of the majority vote within the framework of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
The first paragraph of the "Mahsa Charter" is taken from the same text and is titled "Determination of the type of government through referendum and the establishment of a secular democratic system (based on the principle of separation of religion and state) in which all political and official positions are selected through free and democratic elections."
The only difference between these two is that in the "Mahsa Charter," the possibility of choosing between a republican or parliamentary monarchy was removed, and the type of government remained silent and ambiguous. This issue paves the way for the bitter experience of the 1979 Revolution and entrusting the future of the country to the votes of those who, due to the monopoly of the media and the lack of independent media, are bombarded with one-sided political propaganda. Therefore, the opposition monopolists repeat the populist referendum of 1979 and deliberately use the referendum to return to the monarchy, which is their desired goal.
B: In the second clause of the "Charter of Freedom," it refers to "preserving the territorial integrity of Iran by accepting its linguistic, ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity." This clause is a combination of two clauses from the Constitution of the Mashrouteh Party, which can be seen in the preamble and text of the manifesto published during its fifth congress: "Independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of Iran are the highest values for us," and "The Iranian nation is composed of various ethnicities and religions that have lived together for millennia and have preserved their national land with their blood."
C: In cases of decentralization and linguistic rights, the third and fourth clauses of the Constitutionalists state: "The rights of ethnicities and religions are not incompatible with a democratic system based on the declaration of universal human rights and its covenants with the principle of one country, one nation... The official language of Iran is the national language, namely Persian, but people can receive education and speak in their mother tongue everywhere and have mass media in it," and "Our party, in continuation of the tradition of state and provincial associations in the Constitution of Mashrouteh proposes local governments at the provincial, county, district, and village levels."
Actually, this section of the constitutionalists' charters is one step ahead of the "Mahsa Charter" because it directly refers to learning non-Persian languages, while in the "Mahsa Charter," only "accepting the use of mother tongue based on international conventions" was mentioned, which was very vague and ambiguous, and various interpretations could be made from it. Also, regarding the rights of nations, it was only mentioned to "accept diversity and variety in the Iranian society," and no political rights were mentioned, even about forming parties and organizations, which was addressed in the same charter regarding workers.
D: The 9th article of the "Mahsa Charter" does indeed refer to the rights of women, children, and the disabled, but it does not refer to the comprehensive rights of the LGBTQ+ community. This issue is seen in the third congress document of the constitutionalist party, which, based on its conservative and nationalist views, does not attach importance to the comprehensive rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
E: In the "Justice" section, "Justice for all victims of the Islamic Republic" was raised, but since one of the signatories is the son of the former Shah, there was a minimal reference to the victims of the previous monarchy and the trials of members of the Tudeh party!
F: In the paragraph related to "Peace and Security," the integration of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the army was addressed, and the duty of the army was defined not to protect the country against foreign attacks but to protect Iran's unity. Such a determination of duties is a sign and facilitation of another suppression and heavy-handed attack on Iran's ethnic groups with heavy weapons in case of their demands for the restoration of their rights and the interpretation of the centrists' demands. Both the former monarchy and the Islamic Republic have had a bad and long history of bloody suppression of ethnic groups under the banner of threats to territorial integrity.
G: In the section related to "Environmental Sustainability," there was no reference to the preservation of Iran's environment and sustainability. This issue is of special importance due to the incompetence and inefficiency of officials and the destruction of the environment in Iran.
As the Kurdish Women's Enlightenment Movement, due to numerous ambiguities in the "Mahsa Charter", many of its references being vague and the existence of some elements clearly serving the central and strengthening role of nationalism, and also the neglect of active women (including trans, cisgender, and non-binary), civil and political activists, civil society organizations, we believe that the text of this charter is only in the service of Iranian self-aggrandizement. In practice, the feminist revolution of "Jin Jian Azadi" (Women, Life, Freedom) has been used to serve Iranian nationalism and is striving to repeat the political hegemony and concentration of power of the two recent regimes; a pattern that the Jina revolution was actually formed against. The Kurdish Women's Enlightenment Movement rejects the "Mahsa Charter" and does not represent the demands of the main forces of the Jina revolution, namely women (transgender, cisgender, and non-binary), marginalized ethnicities, workers, youth, and students.
What has clearly been removed from this charter is the real concept of "Jin, Jian, Azadi", which is, not only the main slogan of the Jina revolution, but also the manifesto and foundation of Iran's future system, where all residents of Iran can reclaim themselves and their rights. Writing such a charter by a few celebrities and centrist figures who do not have a deep experience of multi-layered discrimination was not unexpected, but the main question here is what is Abdollah Mohtadi's goal in participating in this void and signing this charter? The reactions and conversations of the media were truly thought-provoking and required deep reflection, and for several decades, his political efforts have been questioned under fundamental questions. It is necessary that Abdollah Mohtadi be responsive to a barrier to the Kurdish people's struggle, and their high costs for freedom and self-determination, both now and in the future.
We demand all Kurdish parties and figures to understand the message of the Jina Revolution intelligently, not to turn their backs on their people, to return to the legitimate demands of the people and to unite with the power of women and the people of Kurdistan, and to consider the Charter of Workers, Women, and Students to form a popular front consisting of other nationalities, leftists, and republicans. Kurdish parties should avoid getting close to the hegemonic nationalism and Iranian superiority that has a black history of suppressing and violating the rights of minorities.
With the hope of solidarity among the protesters to draw a bright, democratic, just, and progressive future.
Kurdish Women's Enlightenment Movement
March 10, 2023.
