YJA Star guerrilla Ekin Wan, whose naked body was desecrated and displayed by Turkish soldiers after her death in a clash with soldiers in Varto district of Muş in 2015, was commemorated at her grave in Van province.
- ANF
- VAN
- Sunday, 10 August 2025, 17:13
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the death of Kader Kevser Eltürk, known by her nom de guerre Ekin Wan. The Kurdish guerrilla fighter was killed in August 2015 during fighting in Varto district of Muş while curfews imposed by the Turkish state were in place. Shortly afterwards, photos taken by members of a Turkish police special unit appeared on the internet. They showed Ekin Wan’s naked and disfigured body being dragged through the streets – an image that has been burned into the collective memory of Kurdish society.
The memorial service at Karşıyaka Cemetery in the central İpekyolu district of Van was organized by MEBYA-DER (Solidarity, Unity and Culture Association with Families that Lost Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations), which cares for people who have lost relatives in the Kurdish freedom struggle, and was attended by numerous people. The participants marched to Ekin Wan’s grave under the slogan “Şehîd namirin” (“Martyrs are immortal”) and observed a minute’s silence.
Speaking here, DEM Party MP Gülderen Varlı paid tribute to Ekin Wan. She said that the events of summer 2015 had clearly demonstrated the violence and hatred of the Turkish state towards the Kurdish people, and towards women in particular. “The struggle that Ekin Wan left behind illuminates our path – and we will continue it,” said Varlı.
Source: ANF News
