Women will once again take to the streets this year for 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. As part of the global mobilization against gender-based violence, actions, events, seminars and panels led by the Kurdish Women’s Movement in Europe (TJK-E) began on 13 November across nine European countries and will continue until 29 November.
Ayten Kaplan, spokesperson of the TJK-E, shared her assessment of the upcoming demonstrations and activities in an interview with ANF.
How severe is gender-based violence when we look at the data on feminicide?
When we look at Europe, there is a widespread perception that because these countries are democratic, women are protected under constitutional and legal frameworks. These protections were achieved through years of struggle, yet today we see a very different reality. Even in a continent like Europe, Germany being one example, we are nearing the end of the year with roughly 254 women murdered.
As you know, on 3 November in Ludwigshafen, Dilan K. was murdered by the man she was married to, in front of her two children. So even here in Europe, the existing laws are nowhere near sufficient to prevent such killings. Society has failed to break the male mentality that Mr. Öcalan defined as the ‘intentional killer,’ and as this mentality deepens, the number of murdered women increases year after year.
This shows the system’s inadequacy. Laws meant to protect women are not properly implemented, and women are not given the guarantees that offer real safety or opportunities for freedom. Because of this, women must strengthen their will, illuminate their own path and develop self-defense. Women as a collective need to form mechanisms that react immediately in moments of danger.
This must be approached holistically, from the individual woman, to the broader women’s community, and from there to society itself. We see the system’s failures reflected in state institutions: from women’s shelters to child-protection units, from family courts to the police. All these institutions need to be re-examined and re-trained, because the current legal and institutional mechanisms are simply insufficient.
We talk about democracy, yet what exists today is far from adequate. Some municipalities that have tried to implement the Istanbul Convention have set up women’s units. These units and the women working in them, must fully take on their responsibilities and build organization from the local level upward.
When we look at the increasing number of feminicides every year, we see a direct link between social and systemic failures. This is why political actors and responsible institutions need to address these issues, and society must also develop its own stance and organization against them.
The struggle against feminicide is not only a women’s struggle. Society itself must reach a point where it develops its own reflexes. Feminicides must not become normalized and right now, we see a weakening in society’s reaction.
Women’s movements do react, but their responses can sometimes be fragmented. Women’s organizations need to come closer together, unite our efforts and build a shared framework that brings out the essence of women’s struggle. We need common actions and collective campaigns.
What is this year’s main slogan or theme?
As a society, we are confronted with feminicides every single day. At the same time, wars and waves of displacement are unfolding in different parts of the world, and, as always, the first to suffer are women and children. With every war, we see the same horrors: the killing of women, the rape of women and the enslavement of women.
All of this is directly connected to the conditions we are living through. What is happening in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Africa and in Afghanistan reflects policies imposed on women as a consequence of war. There is also a targeted war against women who demand rights, who have a will of their own and who participate in social and cultural life.
This year’s slogan reflects this reality: ‘Women march against your war and grow their struggle.’ With this slogan, we aim to expose and bring into public view the policies imposed on women in today’s wars. It must be understood that this is not one-sided. When we look at the concrete realities on the ground, we see that women are always the ones victimized, women who are raped, women who are killed, women who are enslaved.
Women will be in the streets on 25 November, because this day represents an uprising led by women themselves, an uprising against harassment, rape and enslavement. At the same time, women will show their strength by presenting their work, their organizing structures and their campaigns. This is profoundly important for us, for all women and for all women’s organizations.
How many actions or events are planned this year? What is your overall programme for 25 November?
This year, in order for women to better understand what we are going through, to grasp the attacks directed at them and to build their own forms of organization, we will hold trainings, panels and seminars across many countries as part of our action calendar for 25 November.
On 25 November, demonstrations will take place in many locations, especially in public squares. So far, around 50 to 60 actions and events have been planned. These will mainly consist of protests and gatherings aimed at raising awareness, helping women express their own will and making the struggle visible. Across Europe, demonstrations, seminars and various workshops will be held.
Finally, do you have a message for women?
Our call is this: no woman should remain without organization. Women must strengthen their struggle against systemic oppression as well as the roles imposed on them by the male-dominated mentality, and in doing so, they must also strengthen themselves. Women need to empower themselves and develop self-defense; only then can they exist, protect themselves and assert their place.
As in every year, this 25 November is deeply meaningful for us. It is the legacy of women’s struggle passed down from Rosa, from the Mirabal Sisters, from our friend Sakine. We must grow this legacy within ourselves and carry it into the future so that younger generations of women do not have to live these experiences and so that a truly democratic and equal environment can be created. For this, we must act now, respond now and strengthen the women’s struggle.
To ensure that not one more woman is lost among us, we must stand by one another, empower one another and protect one another. That is why I call on all women to raise their voices on 25 November, to defend and safeguard their will, and to take their place at the very front of the struggle.