Kiraz: We must broaden the women’s alliance

Leman Kiraz of the HDP Women’s Assembly emphasized that the government abolished the laws protecting women’s rights, let alone taking steps to prevent femicides, violence against women, or sexual assaults and even further the government.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Women’s Assembly Member Leman Kiraz assessed the government’s women’s policies to ANF.

Noting that a more precarious environment has emerged for women after the termination of the Istanbul Convention, Kiraz said: “Political choices determined by a male-dominated vision of the government are a major contributor to the rise in male violence. Imposing ‘certain sorts and acceptable’ femininity-masculinity and gender relations on an essentialist basis, as if they were normal and natural, marginalizes the alternative gender identities or political demands such as equality. The patriarchal system that makes a little boy a murderer, the judiciary that reduces the sentences of murderers with various excuses, the annulment of the Istanbul Convention, which stipulates the prevention of all kinds of violence against women, clearly reveal what kind of women’s policy the government carries out.”

A LESS SAFE ENVIRONMENT

Reminding that domestic violence is the form of violence that results in the most deaths, Kiraz continued: “The majority of femicides are committed by a woman’s closest relatives, such as her spouse, father, brother, or lover. Homes are also the most common locations for male violence incidents that do not result in murder. Furthermore, we had to stay at home during the early phases of the two-year-long outbreak. This has increased the risk of domestic abuse for many women while also limiting the support systems available to them. The state made no efforts to minimize dangers, and the Board of Judges and Prosecutors’ decision to limit the protective provisions of Law No. 6284 and the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention produced a significantly less safe atmosphere for women.

NO PROTECTION OR PREVENTION MEASURES ARE IN PLACE

While the capacity of Women’s Support Houses should be raised or other accommodation locations offered, the difficulty in accepting and the living circumstances of Women’s Support Houses may discourage women from applying. Women’s lives and health are jeopardized by conditions not covered in laws and regulations, such as seeking a complaint of assault but being able to seek shelter in their city of residency. Most Violence Prevention and Monitoring Centers (ŞÖNİM) do not provide qualified services. Women continue to suffer major disadvantages in police stations and courts, and women are killed as a result of inadequate protective and preventive measures.”

POVERTY IS ALSO A FACTOR IN VIOLENCE

“We know that if there is no justice, freedom, peace, and democracy in a place, we would be faced with a worsening economic catastrophe as a result,” Kiraz stated, indicating that a big turmoil and crisis was taking place and that women were the most affected by the economic disaster: “When a country devotes all of its resources to war, weaponry, and its own ‘survival,’ the people of that country are forced to live in poverty. Poverty also disproportionately affects women. It is apparent that the government does not implement initiatives to alleviate poverty among women. As I said in the last question, the male-dominated frame of view pervades all of the government’s policies. The male-dominated understanding of power is directly accountable for women’s inaccessibility to economic rights such as equal pay for equal effort and social rights such as health and education.

Male dominance does not only appear as aggression in the family, at home, or on the street. Poverty is a system problem, thus it is also a type of violence, and, how much budget is allotted for women, in what cases women are protected from violence, in which cases violence is hidden, or which women’s lives are expendable within the framework of war policies are all part of the problem. It is unrealistic to believe that the mentality that ties the rise in divorces to women’s labour will result in a solution to women’s poverty.”

THEY DON’T HAVE ANY PROMISES LEFT TO OFFER

Pointing out that the government finds it harder to get by day by day and it is no longer capable of ruling the country, Kiraz said, “Since the government has no promises left to give to the society, they attack the ones they believe to oppose them the most; women, Kurds, and the HDP because, despite all the pressures and difficulties, the HDP and the Kurds have been spoiling the government’s schemes since June 7. Similarly, they regard women who fight for equality and rights with tremendous courage and determination as a challenge to their status quo, and as such, they want to suppress them. The decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, the increased pressure and smear campaigns against female politicians, attempts to limit the right to alimony, and the targeting of female musicians with their clothing, lyrics, and lifestyle are all signs of oppressive policies. We must broaden the struggle, the women’s alliance, in order to change the anti-justice, monist system. We women will fight for freedom, justice, and equality, and we will win.”.

[album=16097]