To refuse to pay the bill for and carry the burden of the crisis; to break the cycle of economic, psychological and physical violence against women!
Women in Turkey face International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25th November in harsher conditions. Increasing poverty caused by the crisis is provoking more violence against women. Women are facing hunger, migration and human trafficking.
GOVERNMENT HAS ITS EYES ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Violence increases through worsening living conditions, pay inequality, unlawful sackings, flexible and insecure work. Tying to prevent reactions to crisis and poverty by keeping the ‘family’ intact, the government has its eyes on women’s rights: Child brides are glorified and marrying children is made easier; there are attempts to eradicate the right to maintenance payments for women; it is harder to divorce; violence is legalised through mediation and preaching.
In a country where the head of the state is talking of ‘disposition’ and labelling equality as ‘packaging’, it is not surprising that murders of women quadrupled in the last 14 years. On the contrary, it is an expression of the fact that the increases in violence, rape and murders of women is not a coincidence.
In a ‘Women and Justice’ summit organised by Turkish Women and Democracy Association (KADEM) – a pro-government organisation that never took park in the struggle for equality for women, that does not represent women’s movement in any way and that always worked towards justifying government policies that imprison woman within the family – the President says “Some say they are equal but let a man and woman run 100 metres, would that be fair?”
WOMEN START 100 METERS BEHIND
Is it fair to say “Will we let you race equally with men?” to the woman that walk to work every morning under the threat of abuse; that work hard for 10-12 hours a day; worrying about the safety of her child(ren) she left with family elders, neighbours or nursery; for whom her performance targets mean even her time in the toilet is measures; that has to do the housework after returning home. Their labour exploited, working for the family at home for nothing, not only are women starting the 100 meters in unequal conditions, they are made to run faster, and even to death in that race. Therefore, you cannot speak of ‘justice’ without ‘equality’. Figures expose the violence caused by the inequality:
Erdoğan’s one-man administration, while burdening workers with the consequences of the crisis, give women a special ‘task’. As seen in the 2019 yearly plan, he wants to resolve the destruction caused by the crisis within the family. The family will be locomotive for facing the crisis caused by price increases, high inflation and unemployment; and women will carry out the slave labour created by the crisis.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN INCREASES DURING CRISIS
It is known that all kinds of violence against women increase during crisis; making it harder to divorce at such a time only aims to make the woman a prisoner within this cycle of violence. 34.6% of women in Turkey seek a divorce due to violence. “Woman is an integral part of and the locomotive for the family” promises crisis to the family and slavery to the woman.
To undermine women’s demand for equality – the most important agenda of women’s struggle for centuries – Erdoğan uses the hypocrisy of ‘equality’ offered in the imperialist capitalist system. He is trying to use public anger towards imperialist countries and institutions to undermine and defeat women’s rights and struggle for equality. But women will submit neither to the hypocrisy of equality under the imperialist-capitalist system nor the government’s imposition of justice without equality! This year, just as in others, all over Turkey and the world, they’ll go out on the streets in solidarity, demanding an equal and free life, a future without violence.
EMEP SALUTES ALL WOMEN IN STRUGGLE
On behalf of Labour Party (EMEP), I salute all women who struggle for equal pay in Europe; resist and fight bans on abortion, increasing violence and fascist reaction in Latin America; fight for peace and democracy against jihadists in civil wars in Africa; organising against exploitation of her unrecorded work in Asia; fill the streets in the US against imperialist Trump’s attacks against women of the world.
I call on the women of Turkey to refuse to pay the bill for and carry the burden of the crisis; to break the cycle of economic, psychological and physical violence.
We are Together for our Rights and our Lives against Poverty, Exploitation and Violence!
Long Live Women’s solidarity!
SELMA GÜRKAN
Chairwoman