Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak announced the three-month report of the campaign “Our Word Is Not Over, We Will Stop Violence Together”, stating that more than 15,000 women had been reached across a wide geography extending from Van to Diyarbakır, from Ağrı to Bitlis, and that women’s solidarity was being rebuilt.
The three-month working report of the campaign “Our Word Is Not Over, We Will Stop Violence Together”, launched on 13 November 2024 by DEM Party municipalities including Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, was presented to the public. The meeting, held at the Ali Emiri Conference Hall in the municipal building, was attended by Co-Mayor Serra Bucak as well as provincial and district municipality co-mayors and representatives of women’s organisations. A video presentation was shown highlighting the municipality’s work carried out for women.
The campaign report was read in Turkish by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak, and in Kurdish by Devrim Demir, Co-Mayor of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality, who had been replaced with a government-appointed trustee by decision of the Ministry of Interior.
Co-Mayor Bucak: Trustee practices have obstructed women’s policies
After reading the report, Co-Mayor Bucak underlined that the most fundamental principle of local democracy is the uninterrupted and free reflection of the people’s will in the mechanisms of governance. Bucak said, “Unfortunately, the long-standing practice of appointing trustees has prevented local administrations from responding to the real needs of the people and has obstructed the implementation of municipalities’ policies on social, economic and gender equality.”
‘Women’s institutions were closed, women were dismissed from their jobs’
Emphasising that trustees have rendered ineffective the social policies carried out by municipalities in line with the demands of the people, Co-Mayor Bucak stated that Women’s Solidarity Centres, Women’s Shelters and Violence Helplines, which play a major role in combating discrimination and violence faced by women in daily life, were closed down by the trustees, and that, in many cases, women working in these areas were dismissed from their jobs.
Before reading the report, Co-Mayor Bucak conveyed the greetings of Neslihan Şedal, Co-Mayor of Van Metropolitan Municipality, who was unable to attend the event due to the appointment of a trustee in Van. Emphasising that Van is resisting against the trustee and has a demanding programme, Co-Mayor Bucak sent greetings to the people of Van.
‘We aimed to effectively combat violence against women’
Pointing out that this situation has led to the isolation of women and victims of violence who are in need of the support of local administrations, pushing them into vulnerability and depriving them of their most fundamental rights, Co-Mayor Bucak continued: “Through the intervention of trustees, not only were existing services abolished, but the creation of new services was also prevented. It has become 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 within municipalities have been shut, and efforts to combat violence have been eliminated. However, despite all these obstructions, with the restoration of local administrations to the will of the people, we immediately resumed our work. On 13 November 2024, as the Women’s Policies of DEM Party Municipalities, we launched the campaign ‘Our Word Is Not Over, We Will Stop Violence Together’. Through this campaign, we aimed to carry out work in the field of gender equality, to strengthen women’s solidarity once again, and to effectively combat violence against women.”
‘More than 15,000 women reached’
In this regard, Co-Mayor Bucak stated that more than 15,000 women had been reached and that comprehensive awareness-raising activities had been carried out neighbourhood by neighbourhood and village by village. She noted that with the reopening of Women’s Solidarity Centres, shelters and Violence Helplines, mechanisms of struggle had been strengthened. Co-Mayor Bucak added that in all provinces and districts, training sessions had been organised on women’s rights, gender equality and combating violence, and that DEM Party municipalities had undertaken visibility efforts through social media campaigns, billboards and local media in order to raise public awareness.
Stating that the campaign “Our Word Is Not Over, We Will Stop Violence Together” had strengthened and expanded women’s solidarity, Co-Mayor Bucak went on to share a summary of the three-month activities.
She underlined that awareness-raising activities on “Mechanisms to Combat Violence Against Women, Law No. 6284, Gender Equality, Non-Violent Communication, Methods of Combating Digital Violence” had been carried out in neighbourhoods, villages, towns and municipal institutions. She added that “self-defence workshops” had been held in neighbourhoods, villages, towns and municipal institutions; that a “Panel on Legal and Political Struggles Against Violence Against Women” had been organised; and that in order to create awareness on methods of combating violence against women, fieldwork had been conducted in neighbourhoods, markets, shopping centres and villages, where brochures were distributed.
Co-Mayor Bucak stated that posters, billboards and video content for awareness-raising had been produced on social media platforms, and that a “Declaration of Stance Against Violence” had been signed in Van Metropolitan Municipality and district municipalities. She continued: “Women’s Centres, Solidarity Centres, Women’s Life Centres, Women’s Rest Centres and Women’s Shelters, whose purpose is to combat violence against women, ensure women’s active participation in public and political life, strengthen the link between women and local administrations, and develop policies and projects for identifying and resolving the problems faced by women, have started to reopen within the framework of the campaign. The Women’s Policies field of DEM Party municipalities has not only reopened institutions that serve as a memory of the women’s struggle, but during this period has also created new spheres of struggle.”
Institutions and centres opened
Co-Mayor Bucak stated that within the scope of the campaign, Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality DİKASUM, Kayapınar Women’s Solidarity Centre, Peyas Women’s Works Library, Van Women’s Works Library and Research Centre, Floating Women’s Library, Çıl Kezi Women’s Solidarity Centre, Sinemhan Women’s Life and Solidarity Centre, Viranşehir Women’s Solidarity Centre, Tatvan Women’s Solidarity Centre, Ağrı Women’s Solidarity Centre, Mekiye Ana Women’s Solidarity Centre, Amargi Women’s Life Centre in Van districts, Şamiran Women’s Life Centre, Hebun Women’s Life Centre, Serav Women’s Life Centre, 11 Women’s Rest Houses and the Van Metropolitan Municipality Women’s Support Line had been established.
Emphasising that during the first three months of the campaign “Our Word Is Not Over, We Will Stop Violence Together”, more than 15,000 women had been reached across a wide geography from Van to Diyarbakır, from Ağrı to Bitlis, Co-Mayor Bucak noted that significant steps had been taken to achieve gender equality and to rebuild women’s solidarity.
Co-Mayor Bucak underlined that the steps taken in the first three months of the campaign had also laid an important foundation for future work, stating: “The responsibility of municipalities in preventing violence against women and in the struggle for gender equality is great, and by saying ‘Our Word Is Not Over’, the continuation of this struggle is being pledged.”
‘We celebrate 8 March’
Co-Mayor Bucak said: “With the strength we have drawn from our campaign ‘Our Word Is Not Over, We Will Stop Violence Together’, we will continue our expanded women’s policies in local administrations with the 8 March International Women’s Day events, which we are starting as of today. As heirs of the women’s struggle waged for thousands of years against the inequality, sexism and femicide created by male-dominated power, we promise that we will once again be in the squares on this 8 March, growing our struggle with our revolt and marching towards freedom; and we celebrate 8 March, the day of unity, solidarity and struggle of women worldwide. We rise in revolt against femicide, we march towards freedom.”
