The Ankara mayoral race ahead of Turkey’s local elections has become a “power struggle between nationalist men” and “women had to intervene”, former Diyarbakır (Amed) co-mayor and current Ankara mayoral candidate for the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Gültan Kışanak said in an interview on 8 March.
Despite being imprisoned since 2016, Kışanak’s decision to run from the Turkish capital instead of Diyarbakır has sparked considerable interest and discussion in political circles and among the general public.
She stressed that her choice of Ankara rather than Diyarbakır was rooted in a strategic vision to address national challenges, particularly the unresolved issues of women’s freedom and the Kurdish question.
“The capital is at the centre of both the problems and the solutions,” Kışanak explained, highlighting the need for a societal initiative to address these persistent issues. Her candidacy aims to build a bridge between Diyarbakır and Ankara, promote a united front for women’s rights and peace, challenge the prevailing narrative of division and intervene in a male-dominated political race with a feminist agenda.
Kışanak also revealed that she was not allowed to have her photograph taken from prison, forcing the party to use an older photo for her campaign.
The Kurdish politician said her decision to run for mayor of Ankara was rooted in her commitment to women’s empowerment and her party’s “purple DEM” policies. The “purple DEM” refers to the party’s emphasis on women’s policies that aim to address gender inequality and promote women’s rights.
A record of local successes and challenges
During her tenure as co-mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, Kışanak oversaw significant progress in women’s rights and local governance, integrating the principles of the Kurdish women’s movement into municipal policy. This included the creation of special departments for women’s services, the introduction of gender-based data collection and budgeting, and the promotion of women’s employment in traditionally male-dominated sectors. Initiatives such as the Directorate for Women and the Economy and support for women’s cooperatives have been key to increasing women’s economic participation and promoting gender equality.
However, the imposition of trustees over the municipality led to the dismantling of these advances. Kışanak pointed out that the trustees’ policies not only destroyed the systems that had been put in place, but also rolled back gender equality, confining women to domestic roles and undermining the social transformation achieved under her leadership.
