Women meet in Ankara ahead of March 8: ‘We are here to call you to account’

* Photo: Twitter

Click to read the article in Turkish

With the motto "Long live March 8 in the face of male and state violence, crisis and poverty", the Ankara Women's Platform staged a demonstration in the capital ahead of March 8 International Women's Day.

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), at the demonstration held in Anıtpark yesterday (March 6), women opened banners that read Women don't want war", "Biji tekoşina jinan" (Long live women's struggle, in Kurdish) and "We won't bow down to your violence".

Reading out the names of the massacred women and the women politicians behind bars, women said, "Here". The press statement was read out in three languages, Kurdish, Turkish and Arabic.

Women briefly stated the following:

"While Şule Çet, Emine Bulut, İpek Er, Ceren Damar, Aleyna Çakır, Fatma Altınmakas, Hande Kader and several other women are being taken away from us, we have called the perpetrators and the ones who let the perpetrators go unpunished to account.

"We have defended each other in the face of state violence, the biggest criminal organization in history, and male violence, which it tries to legitimize from the public sphere to the private sphere. While political power holders are once again trying to ensure their stay in power by attacking women, we don't bargain with the male-dominated system, which wants to silence us.

Strip search in prisons

"Several women, especially Kurdish women, are subjected to strip search and all types of torture in prisons. Several women prisoners such as Aysel Tuğluk are not released even though their health does not allow them to stay in prison. Ill women prisoners' right to healthcare is hindered.

"Garibe Gezer was subjected to sexual violence and all types of torture in prison; it was said that she committed suicide. Deniz Poyraz was massacred inside a party [HDP] building which was under police surveillance 24/7. Gülistan Doku has been missing for 2 years. We are here to bring the male-dominated state, which operates the enemy law and pursues special methods of war against Kurdish women, to account.

'We will not stay silent'

"In the face of all misogynist policies of the 18-year [Justice and Development Party] AKP rule, we have turned the streets into a purple carnival. We have built our own unique and autonomous existence by standing up against all types of male violence, husbands, their beatings, religious clerks, fathers... We know how to topple male dominance; we know that we will send patriarchal capitalism, the source of violence, to the dustbin of history by struggling together; that is why we are here.

"We promise all women with whom we defend one another, all women whom we have lost after a year full of resistance, LGBTI+s, all prisoners held in prisons and all women who struggle to live in the face of harassment, rape and male violence on the street, at home, in the workplace and at school: We will not stay silent. We will move heaven and earth."

The demonstration continued with a concert and folk dances. (RT/SD)