“From Abya Yala to Kurdistan, let us flourish, for war cannot destroy our roots”: this was the motto of the third official conference of the Kurdish women’s liberation movement, organized by the Women Weaving the Future network—the first of three to be held outside Europe.
During the week of February 11–15, 2026, more than 400 women from various countries, speaking different languages, and belonging to diverse social movements gathered in Bogotá. At the heart of this women’s discussion circle was the examination and reflection on women’s struggle in the face of the destruction of life and the crisis of capitalism, which constantly threatens the reproduction of all forms of life. This conference was dedicated, among others, to the memories of Sakine Cansiz, Rosa Luxemburg, and Alina Sanchez, also known as Lêgerîn Çiya. The tenth anniversary of the assassination of Berta Cáceres was also commemorated.
Filled with cries, songs, and dances, this gathering began with a ceremony invoking the spirits of fire, wind, earth, smoke, and water. Surrounding an altar made of flowers, herbs, and sacred seeds, overflowing with offerings in memory of Mother Earth (Pachamama) and the murdered and missing women, various banners bearing the symbols of different feminist struggles in resistance for the defense of life fluttered in the wind. At the center of the altar: fire and drum, a branch of palo santo, and a candle kept burning throughout the whole duration of this timeless ritual.
Throughout the week, new imaginaries were collectively envisioned, in opposition to the patterns shaped by the logic of patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism. A voice from Haiti emphasized the importance of recognizing that “this failure is more a result of global capitalism than an internal problem,” and that in this sense, these new ways of thinking must be woven across borders, where nature is decolonized and the beings who inhabit it are liberated.
The goal of this gathering was to build a broader network of resistance based on the networks each participant has already established—a network that converges into a common struggle: the end of patriarchy and imperialism for the liberation of women, bodies, and territories.
“I come from a territory where, since our grandparents’ time, the river was synonymous with life, food, ritual, and identity. A territory where water was neither a resource nor a commodity. It was a living link between our people, the land, and the place we inhabited. “Today, the river has become infrastructure in the service of plunder,” testifies a comrade from Mexico.
This space for dialogue emphasized diversity at the heart of the struggle, an essential element for the struggle’s sustainability. “The struggle must be diverse; otherwise, it is not a struggle,” declares another comrade from Ecuador. Throughout this week of conferences, proposals were developed with the intention of building a path of international resistance against the architecture of plunder constructed by the Empire, in a context where the state has constructed “a war project at our borders and we are confronted with perverse alternative energy projects where paramilitaries are reorganizing themselves within the framework of the state’s land control policy,” as shared by an activist from Colombia.
To formulate these ideas more concretely and in depth, seven separate workshops were held, addressing seven different themes: the economy, education, health, communication, the arts, and culture. The concepts of democratic confederalism and ‘’jineology’’ were also addressed; the latter are political doctrines theorized within the Kurdish women liberation movement, as was the self-defence of bodies and territory. This last workshop sparked intense debate and was the first topic discussed at the workshop’s opening, with several participants calling for a title more attuned to Colombia’s geopolitical reality.
The importance of returning to the worldview of Indigenous peoples was widely discussed: a system of thought and values based on feeling. As a colleague from Ecuador shared with us: “If our proposals do not touch the heart, we cannot fight. We return to the cosmic family: thinking with the heart.”
It goes without saying, then, that thinking from the heart has been, is, and will remain fundamental to the struggle. Indeed, one of the main proposals is the desire to place popular education at the center of our practices, in order to foster large-scale self-criticism and reclaim ancestral knowledge, as well as the care of our own bodies and communities.
It has been emphasized on numerous occasions that education is a decisive means of recognizing and valuing the care economy and, consequently, transforming our conception of the economy. Therefore, we must build an education whose foundation is love, whose scope is political, and whose center is ancestral memory. Furthermore, by identifying communication as a tool for critique and culture as a tool for liberation, the importance of expanding the spaces and means of exchange that foster resistance was reaffirmed.
Amongst others were named discussion circles, murals, radio shows, and fanzines. Although many ideas and spontaneous proposals were raised and included in the women’s manifesto for the defense of life, the conclusion is still an on-going process. Some of the proposals put forward are quietly taking root, such as a collective economic initiative through an international women’s marketing network.