Women and the PKK: Ideology, Gender, and Terrorism

• Author: Murat Haner,Francis T. Cullen,Michael L. Benson
• Published date: 01 September 2020
• Date: 01 September 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/1057567719826632
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Women and the PKK:

Ideology, Gender,

and Terrorism

Murat Haner

1

, Francis T. Cullen

2

,

and Michael L. Benson

2

Abstract

Women have had a long and varied participation in terrorist groups. This project explores the role

of gender in one of the most prominent armed organizations in the Middle East, the Kurdistan

Workers’ Party, commonly known as the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK). Rejecting the patri-

archal values of traditional Kurdish society, the PKK has been particularly receptive to female

membership. Insights on the nature of this participation are drawn from an extensive interview with

a long-term, high-ranking PKK official. Inspired by secular egalitarian ideology from its inception, the

PKK has created an organizational culture that encourages substantial gender equality in recruit-

ment, training, military missions, leadership, and protections against sexual victimization. It is pos-

sible that gender equality in the PKK will have a feedback effect on the broader Kurdish society

where patriarchal values remain dominant.

Keywords

Middle East, gender, the PKK, women as terrorists, ideology of equality

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, commonly known as the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK), is

one of the oldest armed groups in the Middle East. Since 1978, it has battled for autonomy for the

Kurdish people within Turkey (Haner, 2018). Recognizing the strategic importance of both Turkey

and the Kurds, the United States and many western countries have had complicated and fluctuating

relationships with the PKK, alternately ignoring, supporting, abandoning, or condemning it depend-

ing on how geopolitical winds surge and swirl across the region. Because it is a large and politically

consequential organization, the historical development and organizational structure of the PKK has

received significant attention from scholars (Khezri, 2018; Massulo & O’Connor, 2017; McDowall,

2003; O’Ballance, 1996; Romano, 2006; White, 2000). These investigations have shed considerable

light on the goals and motivations of the PKK, its methods of recruiting fighters, its operational

1

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, Sarasota, FL, USA

2

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Murat Haner, University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, 8350 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota, FL 34243, USA.

Email: hanerm@usf.edu

International CriminalJustice Review

2020, Vol. 30(3) 279-301

ª2019 Georgia State University

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DOI: 10.1177/1057567719826632

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successes and failures, and its evolving strategies and tactics in the ongoing conflict with Turkish

authorities. However, one important aspect of the PKK as an insurgent organization has, to date,

received insufficient attention from researchers, and that is the role of women as supporters, fighters,

and leaders (however, see Bengio, 2016; Du

¨zgu

¨n, 2016).

The failure to explore the role of women in the PKK is unfortunate because, as we demonstrate

below, they are integral to the success and long-term maintenance of the organization. More impor-

tantly, even though the PKK is situated in a traditional and deeply paternalistic society, women in the

PKK are not as constrained by the patriarchal hegemony that typifies the experiences of women

involved in other nationalistic or religious struggles in the Middle East (see Berko & Edez, 2007).

Indeed, because of the ideology on which it was founded, the PKK may be unique among the armed

organizations located in the region in the roles that women play.

Studying women in the PKK provides insights into the role of gender in an organization

where equality has been a core principle. In addition, even though the exact number of

women in the PKK is uncertain, it is estimated that they constitute around 40–50%of the

PKK cadre (approximately 25,000; Foreign Affairs, 2015; Khezri, 2018). Considering the

patriarchal and male-dominated religious hegemony in this specific geographic context, such

a high rate of female participation in this type of organization is unusual. No understanding of

the PKK can be complete without taking into account what women have meant to the

development and trajectory of the PKK and how their role has been shaped by the ideology

on which it is based.

There are media reports on military actions, frequently suicide bombings, carried out by women

for the PKK, but these reports rarely go into any detail about the day-to-day lives of the women, and

they are almost never based on in-depth interviews with PKK leaders (Damon, n.d.); Krajeski, 2013;

but see West, 2015). In this article, we present the results of several months of interviews conducted

with a former leader of the PKK, the first such study of its kind. The individual, whom we describe

more below, joined the PKK as a young man and over the course of two decades rose through the

ranks to become one of its top leaders. He spent years living and training with women, fighting

alongside them, commanding them, and being commanded by them. The interviews were used to

construct a life history that covered all facets of the subject’s life, but here we focus on our subject’s

relations with women.

The life history is a particularl y useful method to use to study social relations because, as the

subjects reveal their perso nal history, they also expose a nd illuminate their social world . It can

reveal the structure of the subject’s refer ence group and the roles that people in that group

played, including, in our case, wo men in the PKK. Criminologists ha ve long known that inter-

views with insiders are an especially v aluable methodological tool beca use of the light they can

shed on the inner workings of cla ndestine and marginalized gro ups engaged in deviant or ille gal

activities (e.g., see Contreras, 2013; Decker & Van Winkle, 1996; MacLeod, 1987; Miller, 2001,

2008). However, relatively litt le of the research on women in armed gro ups, especially the PKK,

has been based on the testimony of insiders, especially those who have been in leadership

positions.

Accordingly, the goal of this article is to extend our understanding of women in the PKK .

Drawing from the interviews, we explore six themes related to female involvement in the PKK: (1)

the ideology of equality, (2) women’s motivation and recruitment, (3) training and fighting, (4)

leadership opportunities, (5) willingness to die, and (6) romantic relationships. Before presenting

our results, we briefly review previous research on women and terrorism and then discuss the

history of the PKK. Next, we present our methodology, followed by our analysis of the interviews.

We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these results for a general understanding of

gender and terrorism.

280 International Criminal Justice Review 30(3)