In a letter from prison, arrested journalist Safiye Alağaş said that JinNews is an important part of the women’s struggle and added: “At bottom, there is an attack against the women’s struggle, not JinNews. I believe that all women will embrace JinNews.”
News Director of all-female news agency JinNews, Safiye Alağaş, who is jailed in Diyarbakır Women’s Closed Prison, wrote a letter about her arrest. Her letter was written as part of an article series titled “Jailed Journalists Write” published by the news site Bianet:
“If you take part in the women’s struggle, you are definitely the target of the gods of the age. They resort to any form of attack to intimidate you. They use violence, detain and arrest you, just like they did to JinNews.
We are witnessing the battle of the gods of the age to hide their wickedness. This is indeed a battle of the gods of the age, and we are in the middle of it. They attack every part of society to create an obedient and docile society. They attack the minds of children to make their past, present and future uncertain. They do everything to shape their minds from the moment they are born. They must do it, otherwise their ruling will fall apart. For instance, they are very afraid of young people. They want them silenced because if young people revolt, the whole world revolts. Young people lead others to revolt. They are the nightmares of rulers. For this reason, rulers always attack the right to education, work and life of young people.
Rulers are war with women
Rulers have a nightmare. Don’t even ask what it is: Women! Their biggest fear is women. They attack every part of life that reflects women. They want to shape the whole being of women from their nails to their hair. They want to intervene in and shape what they wear, what they drink, their relationship, how many children they will have, their marriage, their life at home, their jobs, whether they wear make-up or not, and many other lifestyle preferences that I can’t count. They are at war with women.
As women, we have found the true source that feeds our souls. We had been looking for it for many years, and we are now firmly aware of it in the 21st century. Struggle feeds our soul. As we struggle, we return to our most natural state. We become will, we become power, we create a colourful life. And most importantly, wherever we are in the world, we, women, touch each other’s souls. We are not deceived by the glamorous lives offered to us. The brightness of the stars does not dazzle us. We, women, made silent promises, screamed our promises, looked into each other’s eyes and promised: We will not give up the struggle until we find our place in society. We don’t give up until we obtain our freedom. Our ultimate and final goal is our freedom.
If we fall, we try again
Our emancipation has nothing to do with Prince Charming. We will not wait for the Prince Charming to come and save us. Besides, we know from our history that Prince Charming has subjected us to an even greater and more troublesome slavery. We are experienced enough in this matter.
As women, we learn how to ride horses by ourselves without the help of the Prince Charming. We experience it through struggle. If we fall off the horse in our struggle, we get up and ride again. We try again every time we fall.
We, women, are looking for the horse itself, not the Prince Charming. We don’t expect it to find us. We are looking for it. And we believe that it is also looking for us somewhere, it is coming towards us.
Liberation of women
Where do we want to go when we find it? Towards a forest, riding it at full gallop. We want to go to the darkest, most secluded part of the forest without breathing. We want to go through the darkest corridors of the forest and eventually discover mountains and rivers. We want to meet our history left in the dark. Ultimately, this is a journey of meeting our inner self. As the history of women comes to light out of darkness, society will be liberated as well as women.
This is the main concern of the gods of the age. They do not want the emancipation of women and society. That’s why they attack women the most. Sometimes they attack gently, sometimes brutally. If you take part in a women’s struggle, you definitely become the target of the gods of the age. They carry out all kinds of attacks to intimidate you.
Allagetions against JinNews
They use violence, detain and arrest you, just like they did to JinNews. Access to JinNews has been blocked dozens of times. Many lawsuits have been launched against it. As you can see, the attack increased when JinNews did not give up the struggle. Even our breathing has been blamed.
Cowards die many times before their deaths. Their attacks against us are futile, they are growing smaller as they attack us.
Women’s struggle will not stop
JinNews has made a significant contribution to women’s journalism and is one of the most important pillars of the women’s struggle in Turkey. It has introduced a new perspective to journalism. It offers an important alternative to masculine language in journalism. It needs to be endorsed by many. I believe that all women will embrace JinNews. Because at bottom, there is an attack against the women’s struggle, not JinNews. All women are aware of this. I say again that women’s struggle cannot be stopped.
Hoping to find the horse that will take us to freedom as soon as possible.”