Title: Rojava: An experiment for a future democratic and peaceful Syria?
Author: Sinam Mohammed,

Voices from the South E-Newsletter: May 2017

Description:

In the northern parts of Syria, the autonomous region known as Rojava (also known as the Democratic Administration of North Syria) has emerged as an experiment in peace, co-operation, and progressive political change in the Middle East. Since their declaration of their autonomy in 2014, the inhabitants of Rojava (primarily Kurds, along with Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians and Yezidis living in the area) are in the process of building a society based on gender equality, economic cooperation, and grassroots based direct democracy The opening lines of their “Social Contract” and charter reads: “In pursuit of freedom, justice, dignity and democracy and led by principles of equality and environmental sustainability, the Charter proclaims a new social contract, based upon mutual and peaceful coexistence and understanding between all strands of society.”

In this month’s “Voices from the South”, Ms. Sinam Mohammed, Foreign Representative for the Democratic Self-Rule Administration of Rojava, details this democratic society movement that is unfolding in northern Syria – a movement that consists of 50% female and 50% male leadership. The text partially consists of excerpts from her speech at the plenary on “Systemic Alternatives across borders – Thinking backwards from Utopia,” which was held at the EDGE Funders Alliance conference in Barcelona in April 2017.

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