Women co-mayors of the People’s Democracy and Equality (DEM) Party held a press conference in in Diyarbakır (Amed) on Friday 21 February. They announced the results that have been reached in the last three months within the framework of the “Our promise is not finished – We will stand against violence together” campaign (Gotina me neqediya: Em ê bi hev re tundiyê rawestînin).
The press statement was read in Kurdish by Devrim Demir, co-mayor of Mardin (Mêrdîn) Municipality, who has been replaced by a trustee, and in Turkish by Serra Bucak, co-mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality. They announced that so far 15,000 women had been reached within the scope of the campaign and that the campaign will continue with events leading up to the International Women’s Day on 8 March.
The ‘Our promise is not finished – We will stand against violence together’ campaign was launched on 13 November 2024 with the aim to raise awareness about gender inequality and to provide practical support to women by opening solidarity centres, shelters and anti-violence hotlines. Publicity campaigns were carried out by holding neighbourhood meetings and using billboards and campaigns on social media.
In the press statement, the effects that the appointment of state trustees have had on women in several DEM party held municipalities was presented, with Serra Bucak explaining that “It has been made almost impossible for municipalities to develop projects that strengthen gender equality and women’s rights, women’s solidarity centres have been rendered inactive or closed down, gender equality units in municipalities have been closed down and efforts to combat violence have been eliminated.”
Despite these difficult circumstances, Bucak highlighted that the network of solidarity that was created by the campaign will “make women’s voices louder in local governments, increase collective resistance and create a strong foundation for the construction of a non-violent life.”
Bucak continued, emphasising the deciding role women play in strengthening a democratic society:
“We will build a democratic, ecological and women’s libertarian life together, taking our strength from women’s struggle for freedom and equality, solidarity and determination.”
To close the statement, Bucak put attention on the upcoming International Women’s Day on 8 of March, inviting women to take to the streets on this day to continue the heritage of the women’s struggle: “against inequality, sexism and women’s oppression created by the male-dominated power for thousands of years”.
