The Free Women's Movement (TJA) launched its programme of events and actions for 25 November at Sümerpark under the slogan ‘Now is the time for women, with self-empowerment and free will’. The event was attended by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak; Fatime Üzül Levent, Co-Chair of the Diyarbakır Provincial Organisation of the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party); Ruçem Vefa Elyakut and Ahmet Doğan, Co-Chairs of the Provincial Organisation of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP); DEM Party MPs; members of the Metropolitan Municipality Council; co-mayors of district municipalities; and representatives of women's organisations.

‘Collective organising and action keep us alive’

TJA activist Rengin Sarsarkan, who read out the statement, called on women to take part in the actions and events planned for 25 November. “Through workshops, women's meetings and awareness-raising activities, we will amplify women's voices and strengthen solidarity. We will draw on our collective strength to defend women's right to life, organise resistance against violence and make our voices heard more powerfully. We say: Isolation and silence kill; collective organising and action keep us alive,” she said.

Co-Mayor Bucak: Campaigns must be organised to combat violence

Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayor Serra Bucak said that as the women's struggle grew stronger, those in power were also doing everything in their power to institutionalise male dominance. She stressed that women must stand in solidarity with one another and organise campaigns to combat violence against women. “We are doing everything we can to embed these campaigns in our women's policies and the work of our women's organisations, and to put them into practice in neighbourhoods,” she said.

‘We will never leave any woman alone’

Co-Mayor Bucak said that, as they prepared for 25 November, they were reviewing their work and areas of activity concerning women. She stressed that, as local authorities and with the support of all the city's stakeholders, they would never leave any woman alone.

Emphasising that violence against women was structural and political, Bucak said: “What we need to do is organise young women and create new spaces for them. This places an important responsibility on all of us and gives us an important role to play. We must not lose sight of this. As the state and, unfortunately, those in power expand their various methods and means, we women need to discuss how we can strengthen the ways in which we come together in our struggle, develop our cooperation and address the issue of violence against women more effectively.”

‘We must organise young women and create new spaces’

Drawing attention to the many forms of violence, Co-Mayor Bucak said that women in this part of the world had for many years faced policies of assimilation, intimidation and attacks on two fronts: because of their Kurdish identity and because they were women.

Bucak said they believed in the strength of women's organised struggle in the face of all this. “We believe that one day, women's organised struggle can put an end to violence against women in this part of the world, or at least reduce it significantly,” she said.

Call to women ahead of 25 November

Calling on women ahead of 25 November, Co-Mayor Bucak said: “We need you to join us in discussing policies on violence against women, coming together and standing shoulder to shoulder in neighbourhoods, on streets, wherever women are – at universities, in the places where they live and work, in public spaces, workplaces, local authorities and municipalities. We need to organise with women, strengthen our collective organising and find new ways forward together. That is why, as part of all the programmes we have prepared for 25 November, we call on you to support these initiatives, work alongside us and stand together with us, in cooperation with local authorities and our women's movement.”

Women urged to seek support from women's solidarity centres

Providing information about the local authorities' work on women's policies, Co-Mayor Bucak reassured women that they were not alone. She said that women who had experienced injustice could turn to women's solidarity centres, where they would find all forms of support and solidarity.

Flowers laid at the site where Sultan Kara was killed

Following the speeches, Co-Mayor Bucak and the women present marched to the site where Sultan Kara was killed on 26 August and laid carnations in her memory.