Serra Bucak, Co-Mayor of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, met with representatives of women's civil society organisations at the first of a series of ‘focus group’ meetings organised as part of the preparation of a five-year strategic plan. Co-Mayor Bucak stated that they will increase the budget allocated for women's issues and noted that efforts are being made to strengthen employment, women's counselling centres, and the fight against violence against women. 

The work initiated by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality to prepare the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan is ongoing. The process, which began on 6 June with separate meetings held with the headmen of the city’s 17 districts, has continued with “Public Days” in front of the Metropolitan Municipality and with stands set up in various central locations of the city to gather citizens’ demands and suggestions. Within the scope of the Strategic Plan, the “Focus Group” meetings with civil society organisations, which started on 1 July at the Culture and Congress Centre, will continue until Friday, 5 July. The Metropolitan Municipality will complete the Strategic Plan process in September and share it with the public.

Co-Mayor Bucak: We will strengthen the fight against violence

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Co-Mayor Bucak recalled that it was very important for them to start the Focus Group meetings with women. Emphasising that Diyarbakır would once again become a city of women during the election campaign, Bucak continued:

“For the past eight years, we have not been able to implement our projects, our new initiatives, or the areas we intended to build together. With this in mind, we said: Diyarbakır will once again become a women’s city. Not only the projects of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality, but also through work in the four central districts and other outer districts, we have undertaken efforts focused on strengthening women’s employment, women’s counselling centres, and the field of combating violence against women.”

‘More budget for women’s work’

Pointing out that many women from different institutions had attended the meeting, Bucak stated that with the ideas and opinions of women, the Strategic Plan would reach a stronger position. Sharing that 58% of the budget was allocated to roads and construction in previous administrations, but the lowest budget was allocated to women's policies, Bucak said, ‘We want to put forward a plan that allocates more budget to women's studies and social services in the 2025-2029 Strategic Plan.’

Women voiced their demands

Women's NGO representatives also spoke at the meeting, expressing their views and demands regarding women's issues and solutions. Emphasising the importance of the meetings held by the Metropolitan Municipality regarding the Strategic Plan, the NGO representatives called on the Metropolitan Municipality to play an active role in combating violence against women.

'Women should be offered job opportunities'

Emphasising that there are not enough women's shelters, women demanded that empowering programmes be put in place for shelters. Reminding that poverty is a social problem, but that women experience poverty more deeply in terms of gender, women wanted the municipality to work with employer organisations in the city within the framework of joint protocols to provide women with both professional and employment opportunities. 

'Municipalities should form a network against violence'

Representatives of non-governmental organisations, who wanted women's health centres to be established in neighbourhoods and necessary information on health to be provided, made the following demands: "Municipalities should form a network against violence against women and provide easy access to services. Centres should be established to combat drug use. The establishment of childcare centres in workplaces should be expanded. Soup kitchens and bread factories should be opened in central districts. Village houses should be established to provide education and vocational skills to women, thereby increasing production and integrating women into the workforce. Women’s libraries should be established.”