Due to the pressure policies implemented by the government against women in Turkey, women are facing increasing repression every day. In the last two weeks alone, eight women in Istanbul lost their lives as a result of male violence.
At a time when news of systematic violence and harassment against women is increasing day by day, the government in Turkey is almost making an effort not to see what women are experiencing. In official statements, women themselves are often blamed.
Saying “With our resistance and rebellion we will stand against the male state,” DEM Party Istanbul Co-Chair Arife Çınar evaluated the pressure against women, what women are experiencing, and the demands of Kurdish women in the new period for ANF.
“The government ignores women’s will and pursues policies of the ‘acceptable woman’”
Çınar stated that they oppose the government’s policies of the “acceptable woman” and said: “March 8, International Working Women’s Day, is a day when women’s struggles for rights become visible across the world. As women welcome March 8, they face inequality and discrimination, wage inequality and mobbing in working life. Hardly a day passes without domestic violence, harassment in the streets, or femicide. The state’s male-dominated policies, every regulation and every practice presented as reform, have always aimed to shape women’s identity mentally and physically through ‘acceptable woman’ policies, constantly ignoring women’s will. Describing women’s deaths as ‘suspicious deaths’ has now become very common. This language is a male-dominated language. If so many women are being killed, then every femicide is political. We have always said this and will continue to say it. In one year, 400 women were murdered. Thousands of women were subjected to various forms of violence.”
Çınar emphasized that women are trying to survive under insecure living conditions and that the system itself is male-dominated, continuing: “As we approach March 8, there are women struggling to survive under poverty and insecure working conditions. What does it mean that women in Dilovası lost their lives after burning in an unlicensed perfume factory?
We see that women are forced to work under unsafe conditions where profit is the main priority. There is still no real confrontation with femicide. It is clear whom this dirty system serves. It is clear whom the male-dominated mentality and judiciary empower.”
“Women of the world are building free life with the communal philosophy created by the slogan Jin Jiyan Azadî”
Çınar stated that the wars in the Middle East aim to maintain and strengthen male domination, saying that the enslavement of women lies at the foundation of these wars: “Male-state mentalities in the Middle East wage wars of domination by starting conflicts. In this war that spreads across the region, women and children are killed. Male-dominated mentality is reinforced again, and women experience this war more deeply both intellectually and physically. This is why we insist on our struggle. By strengthening women’s solidarity and organization, we continue our struggle against these problems. The Rojava women’s revolution, for example, became a model for women around the world by weaving every area of life with women’s hands and giving them strength. This is the time of women. It is the time to establish equal and free conditions for women in society. Women of the world are building a free life with the communal philosophy created by the slogan Jin Jiyan Azadî. With our resistance and rebellion we welcome March 8 by waging the struggle for an alternative life against the male-dominated state system.
Historically, women have experienced the most intense oppression, exclusion, and denial as an identity within social life. The will of women who weave life has always been ignored; life was shaped by a male-dominated mentality and their will was taken from them. The male-dominated mentality defined the concept of the ‘acceptable woman.’ Masculinity has been continuously reconstructed, spreading a male-dominated and sexist mentality in every area of society, and women were objectified instead of being recognized as social subjects. Throughout history, women have struggled against this mentality.”
“Mr. Öcalan’s philosophy has been embraced by women”
Çınar emphasized that the philosophy of Önder Apo regarding women has been received with great interest and embraced by women around the world: “Mr. Öcalan addressed women’s liberation within a deep philosophical framework and said, ‘Without women being free, society cannot be free.’ Today women of every identity unite around this philosophy and carry out the struggle for equality and freedom. In democratization and peace processes, women must also take an active role. The path toward a truly equal and free society will come through the presence and struggle of women. Women’s struggle will be a driving and leading force in overcoming the male-dominated system.”
“Kurdish women demand the guarantee of their national identity and the freedom of Mr. Öcalan”
Çınar stated that Kurdish women’s demands on March 8 include an equal life, the freedom of their mother tongue, and the freedom of Önder Apo. She concluded: “Through models such as the co-chair system in political representation, women must become pioneers of life by taking part in decision-making mechanisms in every field and expressing their existence with their own will. The rights to mother tongue and national identity must be guaranteed. Mr. Öcalan should gain his freedom and be able to meet women from all segments of society under equal conditions, moving from a negative stage to a positive stage and enabling steps toward democratic integration.
Legal changes must take place so that women can live under equal and free conditions. Instead of the limits imposed by male-dominated policies, a future where women make decisions with their own will, speak freely, and build their lives according to their own values. Women are carrying out the struggle to build a new life on these lands based on a women’s liberationist, ecological, and democratic paradigm.”
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