Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality came together with women with hearing disabilities to discuss solution proposals regarding the challenges they face.

The Department of Women and Family Services continues its work against violence towards women. Within this scope, the Department of Women and Family Services and the Women’s Commission of the Metropolitan Council held a meeting, with the participation of women from the Disability Commission of Yenişehir Municipality, to discuss the demands and solution proposals concerning the problems of women with hearing disabilities.

The meeting, organised at the Federation of Barrier-Free Components in Yenişehir district, was attended by Özden Gürbüz Sümer, Head of the Department of Women and Family Services, and Demet Ceylan, a member of the Metropolitan Council.

‘We Came Here to Recognise the Issue of Violence Against Women in Its Disability Dimension and to Show Solidarity’

Providing information about the meeting, Özden Gürbüz Sümer, Head of the Department of Women and Family Services, stated that the meeting was very important and had been highly productive. She explained that it marked their first contact with women with hearing disabilities:

“Over the past nine months we have carried out very significant work with women in this field. From awareness-raising training to the fields of education, economy and combating violence, we have undertaken many initiatives. However, we realised that we had fallen short when it came to coming together with women with disabilities and addressing the problems of women with disabilities. Therefore, we wanted to be part of such an initiative and to establish this first contact through such a meeting. Following this contact, we came here to recognise the issue of violence against women also in its disability dimension, to confront the fact that women with disabilities experience this problem doubly, and to struggle and show solidarity together.”

‘They Become Confined to Their Homes’

Emphasising the importance of hearing directly from women with hearing disabilities about their problems, Sümer said:

“Their main difficulties, frankly, are about not being able to be present in public life; in other words, not being able to find work or, at the most basic level, not even being able to go out into the street or leave the house. At our meeting, a blind woman friend also joined us. She raised the same issue. In essence, while it is already difficult for women to access public spaces, for women with disabilities this situation becomes twice as difficult, and in reality they become confined to their homes. This, in particular, results in them being exposed to domestic violence, and likewise the violence they experience is compounded by their inability to go out into public space. We exchanged views on this issue.”

‘They Spoke About the Problems They Face in Public Life’

Sümer stated that women with hearing disabilities spoke about the problems they experience in public life and expressed their wish for courses and workshops that would empower them professionally and help them sustain their lives. She noted that it was striking that some women, having given up looking for work, simply wanted opportunities to socialise. Sümer said: “We also need to work on this. We need to develop projects that will enable them to socialise, and to ensure women’s solidarity and women’s gatherings.”

‘This Was a Beginning’

Sümer described the meeting as a starting point and concluded her remarks as follows: “There were very strong proposals. In particular, there was a request for a call centre dedicated to women with hearing disabilities. We will evaluate this. We also have a Department of Services for Persons with Disabilities and the Elderly within the Metropolitan Municipality. By consulting with them, and with the understanding that the problems of women with disabilities need to be addressed through women’s policies, we believe we will be able to carry out joint work. This was a beginning, but we hope there will be continuity, and we can easily commit here that we will strive to hold such meetings in the future as well.”