Viyan Soran was born in Silemanî, South Kurdistan, in 1981. Having felt the brunt of oppression of the Kurdish people as well as the Kurdish women, she joined Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 1997. In a short period of time she well showed her ability within the organization and grew fast. She became a very achieving commander of YJA STAR (Kurdistan Women Defense Forces) and a leading figure of the PKK.
The PKK’s struggle is a human struggle for freedom of the oppressed Kurds ruled by four of the most aggressive states in the world — Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The PKK’s struggle is also a social campaign endeavoring to save the women form the patriarchal norms persisting in the world despite the feminist valuable work. The PKK is also committed to the environmentalist and ecological campaign to save the nature from the unfelt danger of industrialism and consumerism.
As a PKK commander Viyan Soran was committed to these lines of struggle and embodied them in her personal life and struggle. She always showed her strong detestation for the illegal abduction of Kurdish national leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999. In 2006 she committed self-immolation to protest against the abduction of Ocalan, his incarceration and isolation in Imrali Island prison. Under intention behind her self-immolation was against the emergence of treason within the organization. By offering her body, Viyan Soran brought the treachery actions of some individuals among the PKK ranks to an end.
Martyr Viyan is one of the national symbols of the Kurdish people and their national struggle for liberation and freedom.
VIYAN.info
Who was Viyan Soran
