At the KEFEK Regional Meeting, Co-Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Serra Bucak emphasised that it is important for women to take an active role in social and political life, and for democracy and peace to be developed from the local level with a women’s perspective and a women’s freedom perspective.

The Grand National Assembly of Türkiye’s Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men (KEFEK) Regional Meeting was held in the Diyarbakır Teachers’ Lodge Conference Hall. The meeting was attended by Co-Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Serra Bucak, Head of the Department of Women and Family Services Özden Gürbüz Sümer, Director of the Diyarbakır Water and Sewerage Administration (DİSKİ) Mehmet Şerifoğlu, and members of parliament from political parties.

‘I salute all women who are the subjects of the struggle’

Speaking at the meeting, Co-Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Serra Bucak stated that for many years the women’s struggle has had a very important place in Türkiye. Co-Mayor Bucak said: “In such a meaningful meeting, I would like to greet with respect and affection all women who are the subjects of this great struggle, who are the soldiers of this great, unique organised women’s struggle, and who, in the field of women’s rights, labour for the development of the paradigm of the women’s freedom perspective, and say ‘we are here’.”

‘It is essential that peace be achieved locally by women’

Stating that they are seeking the exchange of work and experiences between the west and east of Türkiye, Co-Mayor Bucak said: “Precisely in the process our country has been going through over the past year towards democratisation and peace, the role of women—women taking an active role in social and political life—and the development of democracy and peace from the local level and by women’s hand, with a women’s perspective and a women’s freedom outlook, is essential for us. As local administrators, of course we want to talk a great deal about women’s policies and the role of women in politics, but today, as a local administrator, I also want to briefly set out the work we have carried out.”

Work undertaken to make Diyarbakır a city for women

Touching on the work carried out by the municipality for women, Co-Mayor Bucak continued: “With the JINKART scheme we have implemented, we support women’s participation in social life. For women whose freedom of travel is restricted for economic reasons, who are confined to the responsibilities of a difficult life within the home, JINKART is a social space and a positive card for them. We do not want to limit this only to transport. We want to make it a multifunctional card that encompasses all the social and cultural work carried out in this city. Again, with the Zarokistan we have opened to support children’s development in safe and high-quality spaces, women’s participation in the labour force is facilitated and families are given support for this equal and free life for women.”

‘We aim to transform gender stereotypes’

Noting that they support sustainable living through their washable pad project, which addresses women’s health and environmental awareness together, Co-Mayor Bucak said: “With our Women’s Life Houses in Diyarbakır, we are building a system for a sustainable, ecological life in which women make their own pads, and we will subsequently turn this into a workshop. At the same time, we continue to provide mobile health services in the mother tongue in all our rural districts. We also organise vocational courses in fields traditionally dominated by men—such as 3D animation, furniture assembly, air-conditioning and combi boilers—so that women gain technical skills and are employed in different areas. In these courses, while increasing women’s participation in the labour force, we also aim to transform gender stereotypes.”

Drawing attention to the need to create opportunities for women in traditionally male fields such as technology, engineering and construction, Co-Mayor Bucak added that services for children, older people and disabled people should be expanded, and that women’s participation in cultural, sporting and social spheres should be supported.

“Instead of the concept of equal opportunities, equal representation may be used”

Drawing attention to the fact that equality of opportunity between women and men is also a transformation of mindset, Co-Mayor Bucak said: “In fact, we have at times criticised the term ‘equality of opportunity between women and men’ for many years. Language expresses a form of understanding, but sometimes that language also needs change and transformation. Undoubtedly, where women are ignored and the existence of their labour is denied, the issue of opportunity must also be discussed; a free and equal life, and equal representation, should mean women’s free and democratic equal representation in political and social life and in local government. Very important decisions will be taken at the KEFEK Regional Meeting; the decisions to be taken from the local level will support, encourage and bring closer those of the centre. For this reason, we attach great importance to it,” she said.

The KEFEK Regional Meeting continued with the speeches.