TJA condemns policy of intimidation against female prisoners

The Free Women’s Movement (Tevgera Jinên Azad-TJA) released a statement defining the attacks against women as an expression of fear about the change and transformation in the Kurdish women’s struggle.

The TJA denounced the sexual assault and torture experienced by Gariba Gezer at the hands of guards in the Kandıra No. 1 F Type High Security Prison.

“While the recent media reports on Gezer have caused public indignation, the government does not back down from implementing its inhumane practices. Turkish prosecutors, who have not taken any steps so far while arbitrary disciplinary penalties and violence against prisoners are evident, take immediate action when it comes to resilient women and do not hesitate for a moment to sentence them to dozens of years in prison. We demolished the ‘walls’ of our houses and took to the streets. Those who think that they could threaten us with prison walls make a historical mistake. They need to cast back to see if this is true,” TJA said.

The statement continued, “We know you well from the women who were murdered during the witch hunts, and from the women who were guillotined by the inquisition for demanding ‘equality for women’. We know you from Leyla Qasim who was executed for defying the Baath regime and from Sakine Cansız who said “I was embarrassed to heave a sigh” during the 1980 Turkish coup d’état. We know you from Ebru Dinçer, who was barely saved from being burned alive for opposing F-type fascism, and from dozens of other women who opposed the isolation and set their bodies on fire. We know you from women that you could not ‘settle down’.”

The statement emphasized that the attacks against women in prisons have a certain purpose, adding, “We do not accept the policy of intimidation against Kurdish women and female prisoners like Garibe Gezer. We will continue to carry out women’s struggle inside and outside the prisons under any circumstances, and we will continue to promote women’s freedom with the same faith and determination.”