Six women from Indigenous communities across Asia and the Middle East gathered on Monday to discuss their shared experiences of oppression under radical Islamist forces, the same groups linked to the October 7 attacks that resulted in over 1,200 deaths. The panel, titled "Asia & the Middle East: Conversations Across Communities," was hosted by Indigenous Bridges, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting Indigenous rights.

The participants included Hindu activist and regional analyst Kavya K, also known as “Kavya Speaks”; Israeli Druze activist Rania Dean; Kurdish educator Schilan Kurdpoor; Iranian human rights advocate Honey Montazemi; and Native American and Jewish Indigenous rights advocate Lani Anpo. Moderated by Indigenous Bridges’ director, Ateret Shmuel, the speakers shared personal accounts of gender-based violence, genocide, forced assimilation, and intimidation connected to Islamist political movements in their respective communities.

Despite geographic and cultural differences, the women highlighted common patterns of marginalization, including accusations of Islamophobia, death threats, and online harassment aimed at silencing their voices. They stressed the importance of building solidarity among Indigenous groups to counter what they described as political Islam’s oppressive influence.

Several speakers pointed to the targeting of women as a critical tactic within Islamist conflicts. Kavya K noted that attacks on women often disrupt family and cultural continuity, prompting Hindu communities to impose stricter gender-based restrictions on women’s public participation. She cited the Hindu goddess Kali as a symbol of female empowerment and strength in Hindu tradition.

Schilan Kurdpoor discussed the military role of Kurdish women, particularly in the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) in northern Syria. These all-female units confronted the Islamic State (ISIS), which held the belief that death at the hands of women barred fighters from paradise. The YPJ’s presence was reportedly discouraging to ISIS fighters, illustrating women’s strategic significance in Kurdish-led defense efforts, including Kurdish contributions to the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Language preservation and cultural survival were also central themes. Kurdpoor described efforts to maintain the Kurdish language amid restrictions imposed by governments in Turkey and Iran, emphasizing the language’s role in sustaining Indigenous identity. Rania Dean reflected on the Druze community’s historic shift from Aramaic to Arabic as part of assimilation attempts to avoid persecution, which ultimately did not protect against violence. She referenced the 2025 Sweida massacres and ongoing attacks on Druze villages in southern Syria, underscoring the limits of conformity. Dean further supported using the biblical name “Bashan” for the region, signaling a move away from failed assimilation strategies and a push toward self-determination.

The panel also addressed concerns about Western perceptions and involvement. Honey Montazemi criticized secular leftist support for Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, which led to widespread repression. She expressed alarm over Western women embracing symbols of Islamist regimes and traveling to join militant groups like ISIS, highlighting the complexity of these dynamics and the need to understand their appeal.

Ateret Shmuel contextualized the discussion by noting that Indigenous communities in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa often face violent colonialism, yet Western media narratives frequently portray Islamists as victims and Indigenous populations as instigators. Shmuel warned that this framing may manipulate public opinion to facilitate Islamist expansion in Western countries. She emphasized the interconnectedness of Indigenous safety and sovereignty across global regions and expressed hope that the event would amplify the voices of communities too often marginalized in international discourse.