Protests and events organized by women on March 8 International Women's Day continued in many cities. Women went on work stoppage protests in Izmir, Ankara, Istanbul and Eskisehir.

 

IHD MADE STATEMENTS IN MANY CITIES

 

Human Rights Association (IHD) Istanbul Branch Central Women's Commission made a statement at Şişhane Square. Many women participated in the statement. IHD Co-chair Eren Keskin drew attention to the fact that war policies affect women the most and said, "As human rights defenders, we have always defended peace since our foundation. When the state imposed war, we again defended peaceful solutions. Because war affects the lives of women the most both economically and psychologically. On this March 8, as women of IHD, we demand peace and raise our voices."

 

Branch President Gülseren Yoleri made the statement and said, "The Kurdish issue is at the root of the current problems. Unless the Kurdish issue finds a peaceful solution, women will continue to experience rights violations. Women want all obstacles to their freedom of expression and organization to be removed during the peace process. In this process, they demand the release of all political prisoners, the release of ill prisoners, the re-examination of every painful event that has fallen victim to impunity and the fulfilment of all the requirements by all parties to ensure that it does not happen again. Women are in dire need of peace. For this reason, taking into account the importance of the process, even if it has not been fulfilled so far, they want to voice their demands for peace loudly on this 8th of March. 'As human rights defender women, we want peace', we demand loudly. Once again, women want peace on March 8."

 

Women's commissions of IHD Adana, Mersin, Hatay and Antalya branches also made statements on March 8 in their branch buildings.

 

DISK WOMEN MARCHED IN IZMIR

 

Women members of unions affiliated to the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DISK) went on strike and marched from Konak Pier to Konak Eski Sümerbank. 

 

In the speeches made during the march, demands such as the re-enactment of the Istanbul Convention, not leaving women alone in the face of the economic crisis, equal pay for equal work, and a violence-free working environment were reiterated. In the speeches where it was stated that it was thought that women would give up the struggle, women responded with loud "No" to the questions "Will we give up our rights", "Will we give up our lives", "Will we be silent" and "Will we accept violence".

 

ISTANBUL

 

Confederation of Public Laborer's Unions (KESK) Women's Assemblies and Health and Social Service Workers' Union (SES) made a statement at Istanbul Medical Faculty in Fatih. SES Workplace Representative Güldane Çelik made the statement and said, "This year we are carrying March 8 to the future with the same determination by raising the struggle with our rebellion and anger against the racist patriarchal capitalism, wars and hate speeches of today's right-wing, conservative and reactionary governments that bring poverty, instability, violence and more crisis. We oppose the aim to restrict women's independence through employment policies based on precarious, partial, remote and flexible work under the name of 'harmonising work and family life'; we oppose the expectation that we remain silent when we are subjected to violence under the name of protecting 'family unity'. We demand secure employment and safe workplaces, not flexible and precarious employment. We remind that childcare is not a woman's responsibility, but a parent's responsibility, and that it is necessary to open free, qualified, kindergartens in every neighbourhood. We reiterate our insistence on the establishment of a 'Ministry of Women' and say '2025 is not the year of the family, but the year of the woman'."

 

Güldane Çelik emphasised that they do not accept authoritarian policies that make women's labour invisible, impoverish them with wars, take away their right to life, and that they do not accept authoritarian policies, and added, "Let us unite against the inequality and oppression brought by the male-dominated system that tries to surround us with home, war, poverty and oppression, and against those who try to silence us and usurp our rights, and let us grow the struggle. When women organise and struggle together, the world changes."

 

STRIKE IN ANKARA

 

DİSK Women's Commission went on strike as women working in different sectors within the scope of March 8 activities. DISK Women's Commission Member Zeynep Akpınar Mucukgil criticised the government's women's policy and said, "We hereby declare once again that we will not give up our struggle against impunity policies, inequalities and discrimination against violence against women."

 

DISK Central Anatolia Regional Representative Birgül Kaya said, "Today, under the leadership of DISK, women are on strike in workshops, factories, hospitals, schools, plazas and fields in Turkey. We defend our right to live humanely against the exploitation of women's labour, precarious work, low wage work, gender inequality, harassment, violence and mobbing and we declare today a strike. None of us will stop until the equality of women and men is achieved in this land. March 8 is not only a day of commemoration, but also a day of struggle. Women will win and labour will win."

 

DEMANDS

 

Zeynep Akpınar Mucukgil stated that they want public social policies to be implemented to take the burden of care off women and listed the demands of women as follows: "The decision to terminate the Istanbul Convention must be immediately withdrawn and the Convention and Law No. 6284 should be effectively implemented. ILO Convention No. 190 on Violence and Harassment, which entered into force on 25 June 2021, must be ratified and implemented by the Turkish government. Practices such as sexist good behaviour and provocation discounts in gender-based crimes and femicides should be abandoned. Impunity policies must be ended immediately. Discussions on the usurpation of the right to alimony must end. Public social policies must be implemented to relieve women from the burden of care labour. Day-care centres, care homes for the sick and elderly should be made widespread and should be defined as a right that everyone can benefit from free of charge. Gender-based discrimination against women in working life must be abandoned and secure and decent jobs must be created. Full-time and secure employment opportunities must be created for women instead of the flexible forms of work proposed in the government's policies to increase women's employment. Equal representation in authority and decision-making mechanisms must be realised. The policy of equal pay for equal work must be implemented and monitoring mechanisms must be established for its implementation in every workplace.

 

STRIKE IN ESKISEHIR

 

Women members of DISK-affiliated trade unions staged a work stoppage in Eskişehir. Women from DISK gathered in front of DISK Eskişehir Regional Representative Office and made a statement with the banner "Women are on strike to stop life". Demet Bağcı said, "Women will claim their labour, body and identity. We are raising our struggle for equal pay for equal work, the fight against femicides and violence against women, the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, the ratification of ILO Convention 190 and the implementation of public social policies that will take the burden of care off women."

 

Women strikes and demonstrations continue many cities in Turkey and Kurdistan.