Killjoy feminism is a concept developed by feminist scholar Sara Ahmed to describe what happens when feminists disrupt situations where harmful norms are being presented as normal, natural, or harmless.

A feminist killjoy is someone who refuses to stay silent in the face of sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, or other injustices – even if speaking up “spoils the mood.” Rather than trying to keep everyone comfortable, killjoy feminism insists on naming the problem.
This can make the feminist seem like the one “causing trouble,” when in fact the trouble is the injustice itself.

Knowledge infrastructures – the formal and informal systems through which communities preserve and transmit information, experience, and strategy

It is important to note that the Kurdish–Turkish conflict cannot be understood in isolation from Turkey’s longer history of authoritarian governance and repression of ethnic, religious, and political minorities. Policies of forced assimilation, denial of cultural rights, and state violence have affected a wide range of groups, including Armenians, Assyrians, Alevis, non-Muslims, leftists, and dissidents more broadly.

However, within contemporary political, social, and cultural life in Turkey, the Kurdish question has become the most structurally defining axis of conflict. Due to its scale, duration, geographic scope, and centrality to state security policies, the Kurdish issue has profoundly shaped Turkey’s legal framework, militarisation, governance practices, and limits on democratic participation. As such, while repression in Turkey is neither new nor exclusive to Kurds, the Kurdish question remains the most decisive and enduring site through which authoritarian power has been organised and contested.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a Kurdish militant political organisation and armed guerrilla group founded in 1978. It has primarily operated in the Kurdish-majority regions of southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syria. The PKK initially sought an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its political vision toward advocating autonomy and greater rights for Kurds within existing state borders.

This shift must be understood against a longer history of systemic repression of Kurdish communities across the region. Kurdish populations have faced decades of forced assimilation, large-scale displacement, bans on the Kurdish language and cultural expression, and repeated military campaigns. These policies have produced enduring forms of structural and political violence that continue to shape Kurdish mobilisation and resistance.

In the 2000s, the PKK reoriented its political project toward a model inspired by democratic confederalism, emphasising community-based, decentralised self-governance, ecological sustainability, and feminist principles. This framework has influenced forms of Kurdish self-organisation, particularly in parts of northern Syria and Iraq.

Despite establishing limited forms of autonomy in some areas, Kurdish communities continue to face ongoing struggles for recognition, rights, and political self-determination. Following the failed promise of a Kurdish state after World War I, Kurds have remained marginalised within the geopolitical orders of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, resulting in persistent conflict and repression.

In 2025, following the convening of its congress, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) formally announced its dissolution and declared an end to its armed struggle. As part of this process, the organisation symbolically destroyed its weapons, signalling a transition away from militarised resistance and toward engagement within the sphere of civilian and political struggle.