Rozerin Gültekin

 

ISTANBUL - TJA activist Dilan Geyik spoke about the struggle of women in the last year and how they organised themselves on the way to 25 November, "The pulse of the struggle has increased since last 25 November. The solution to the attacks is persistence in resistance. The power to change and transform society is the power of women. We are each other's reason for struggle, let's meet in Taksim on 25 November."

 

The women's liberation struggle is growing day by day with determination and rebellion against all attacks. Women who struggle by saying that the 21st century will be the century of women are coming together and organising self-defence through joint struggle. 

 

"Jin jiyan azadî’", which was created by the Kurdish women's movement and has become the slogan of the common women's struggle, continues to rise in every field. In the light of the growing women's struggle, Tevgera Jinên Azad (TJA) is also welcoming the 25 November International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women with the slogan ‘Jin jiyan azadî against male state violence’.

 

Dilan Geyik, one of the TJA activists, made evaluations about the struggle they have been waging since the previous year and the spirit in which they are going to 25 November. 

 

‘We tried to reveal women's consciousness’

 

Dilan Geyik said, "Since 25 November, the pulse of the struggle has increased, but the extent of violence against it has also started to diversify. We have seen that the government is trying to hold back women struggling in all areas of life through detentions and arrests, and encouraging the perpetrators through impunity. We have seen a male-state mind that interferes with how women should give birth. Our struggle as TJA continued against all attacks. One of these struggles was the freedom readings we organised in Europe, Turkey and Kurdistan. With these readings, we held discussions on how the isolation on İmralı permeated the society. We organised workshops and women's meetings on both isolation and special war policies. We held discussions on how women are exposed to special war policies. We tried to define the violence we are exposed to every day. We tried to reveal women's consciousness through neighbourhood organisations against attacks." 

 

Women's coalition discussed

 

Dilan Geyik said, "Gülistan Doku, Fatma Altınmakas, Saralar, Nagihan Akarsel are both our grounds for struggle and our justification for struggle." Dilan Geyik also mentioned where the Kurdish women's liberation struggle they are waging draws its grounds and strength from. Dilan Geyik said, "Every woman who tries to liberate herself together with the society and carries out this struggle is our reason for struggle. We have a goal that the 21st century will be the century of women. We argue that we will build a free society together with free women. When we come together with the feminist movement and the women's movement in Turkey, we discuss on these grounds. 

 

Until now, the feminist movement and the women's movement in Turkey had a structure organised in solidarity, but after this process, we are talking about a common line of struggle and forming a women's coalition. After the trustee appointments, our friends from the feminist community visited the cities. Following this, we held meetings and we are trying to create common grounds by planning workshops together. We are taking the process out of solidarity and discussing the common line of struggle. Our coming together is important because women need a common solution." Dilan Geyik emphasised that ‘The government sees organised women as a threat."

 

‘Let's meet in Taksim on 25 November’

 

Dilan Geyik underlined that the slogan ‘Jin jiyan azadi’ that women raised their rebellion has become universal and stated that they determined their slogan for 25 November as ‘Jin jiyan azadi against male state violence’. Dilan Geyik said, "It was seen that women, life and freedom should be together and that one without the other has no meaning. On the other hand, ‘jin jiyan azadi’ has become too much of a target. While organising 25 November, we are making home visits where we talk about both the special war and the dimensions of isolation, and we talk about the effect of isolation on women. Women's universities and pink buses show how the isolation initiated in İmralı is tried to be applied on women. Fascism is being developed through anti-women. The solution against the attacks is to insist on resistance. We believe that the power that will change and transform society is the power of women. We will struggle until there is no area where women are not a subject. On 25 November, we aim to meet women on the streets. We are each other's reason for struggle, let's meet in Taksim on 25 November."