From the Commune to Confederation: The Politics of Women’s Freedom

Why can democratic confederalism not be built without saying “women’s freedom”?

Abstract
This article approaches democratic confederalism not merely as a model of governance but as a paradigm of social reconstruction within the perspective of democratic modernity. In this paradigm, women’s freedom is a constitutive condition of society’s capacity for self-government beyond the level of “representation.” Women’s self-organization functions as a social insurance against mechanisms of passivation. Democratic autonomy is discussed as the re-establishment of a relational system (individual–society, society–nature, woman–man), while democratic politics is conceptualized as the governance of everyday life rather than something limited to elections. The conclusion emphasizes that without women’s freedom, practices of confederalism/commune/autonomy risk reproducing hierarchy.

Keywords
Democratic confederalism; commune; democratic autonomy; women’s self-organization; democratic politics; civil society; social defense; free companionate life.

1. Introduction

Democratic confederalism offers a society-centered perspective of self-government against a state-centered understanding of politics. In this approach, society is conceived not as an object to be governed, but as a subject that governs itself. Women’s freedom is central to this capacity for subjecthood, because patriarchy is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of hierarchy that weakens society’s ability to govern itself.

2. Conceptual framework: self-government, the commune, and the confederal network

The confederal model is based on local units (communes/assemblies) coming together through horizontal ties, producing decisions from the local level, and enabling the representation of society’s multiple identities. Within this framework, women’s self-organization plays a constitutive role for two reasons:
 (i) it generates social resistance against mechanisms of passivation,

(ii) it shows that institutional transformation is insufficient without transforming the relational system.

3. Discussion

3.1 Women’s organization: society’s insurance

A society that leans on the state becomes passive; passivity expands violence and exploitation. Since women are the first target of this passivation, women’s self-organization is not merely a matter of “representation” but the insurance of society’s ability to govern itself.

3.2 Democratic autonomy: rebuilding the relational system

Autonomy is not only an administrative arrangement; it is the rebuilding of relations between individual and society, society and nature, and women and men. Autonomy practices established without transforming male-dominant mentality and relations can reproduce old domination in new forms.

3.3 Democratic politics and civil society: governing life

Politics is the governance of everyday life in fields such as education, culture, economy, justice, and security—beyond electoral limitations. Women’s becoming subjects in these fields means politics ceases to be “men’s business.” Democratic politics and civil society should treat women’s organization not as a “secondary area” but as a capacity for social reconstruction.

4. Conclusion

Any project of a democratic society that does not center women’s freedom risks sliding back into some form of hierarchy. Therefore, confederalism, the commune, and autonomy gain constitutive meaning only together with women’s freedom and the ethics of free companionate life.

Azad Badiki – kurdbe.com editorial team

06.03.2026