During the first decade of the 21st century, the Kurdistan Freedom Movement, a significant political force in the Middle East, recognized the need to reformulate its strategy and expand their focus to include women's emancipation and ecological concerns. This shift in paradigm has spurred numerous initiatives and projects across Kurdistan, encompassing parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria, and Iran, with the aim of promoting sustainability and gender equality. While social movements are often credited with driving changes in social norms, localized, decentralized, and grassroots activism can also wield transformative power. This paper draws on research conducted among Kurdish ecological activists in 2021 and 2022 to showcase examples of their small-scale projects. These endeavors encompass activities such as tree planting, educational events, raising awareness, and the establishment of women's cooperatives. The field of environment often serves as the primary realm of activism for Kurdish women due to its perceived neutrality. Despite facing multiple constraints, activists demonstrate that meaningful pro-ecological and pro-women change is possible even within contexts of subalternity and limited avenues accessible to them. On one hand, women's projects emerge as resistance to the prevailing cultural patterns and challenge the status quo. On the other hand, they serve as laboratories of change, experimenting with different ideas and solutions, seeking alternatives to the profit-oriented and efficiency-driven neoliberal framework. An essential aspect of this activism is the role of social networks. Women involved in ecological pursuits in Kurdistan emphasize the importance of close contacts, bonds, and cooperation. Through networking, they support one another, exchange knowledge, raise awareness, and inspire others to confront environmental and climate crises while reevaluating the potential of women in driving social change.
