DEM Party unveils 'women's manifesto' for local elections

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) unveiled its women's election manifesto within the scope of the March 31 Local Elections.

Speaking at the event held in a hotel in Ankara, DEM Party Co-Chair Tülay Hatimoğulları stated that the inspiration for the women's election manifesto comes from the five thousand years of struggle and resilience demonstrated by Kurdish women throughout history.

Hatimoğulları emphasized the strength of the manifesto, saying, "It is such a powerful manifesto that in our localities, we women will present our libertarian, ecological, and democratic municipal understanding against the male-dominated system and the urban life dictated by this system."

Greetings to women in struggle

Sending greetings to women in struggle, Hatimoğulları highlighted the sacrifices made by women for co-chairpersonship and equal representation, stating:

"From Lilith to Inanna, from those who engaged in scientific and social struggles to the dear women who dared to pay the price in the medieval inquisition courts without stepping back, thousands of greetings to the witches of the Middle Ages. They were the workers of today.

"We owe a lot to Clara Zetkin, Rosa Luxemburg, Behice Boran, Şirin Tekeli, Sakine, Sêvê, Hevrîn Xelef, and Jîna Mahsa Amina. We owe a lot to the Peace Mothers who left positive traces in the pages of the women's struggle, to the mothers standing guard for justice, to the Kurdish mothers who insist on peace despite receiving the funerals of their children via PTT cargo.

"We owe a lot to the Rojava women who made tremendous contributions and gained experience in the women's movements in the 21st century in the Middle East and North Africa. We owe a lot to Gültan Kışanak, Sebahat Tuncel, Ayla Akat, and the dear Aysel Tuğluk, who insists on staying in prison until the last moments of her illness, and in their persons, to all our sisters in prison. We send them greetings and love from here."

"DEM is the only party advocating for gender equality"

"DEM Party is the only party advocating gender equality. Co-chairpersonship and equal representation are absent in any other party. Unfortunately, mainstream parties assign symbolic roles to women in representation and regrettably do not allow these women to effectively use those platforms. Women cannot adequately fulfill the spokesperson roles in these parties.

"We did not see co-presidency and equal representation as symbolic. We also made significant efforts for women's politics to play an active role in Turkey's mixed politics, social change, and transformation.

"We have strived for the constant goal of constructing local administrations, not only in service areas but also in production areas, from the city's streets to sidewalks, with an ecological, democratic, and women's libertarian understanding. Alongside this, we have consistently aimed for social change and transformation."

Following Hatimoğulları's speech, Halide Türkoğlu, the spokesperson of the DEM Party Women's Assembly, read the declaration. (AS/VK)