Erciş (Erdîş) district of Van (Wan) has an important place in the history of the Kurdish Freedom Struggle and Kurdistan. Erciş, which has always been the target of the state, has been the stronghold of the Kurdish Freedom Movement for many years. It is one of the largest districts in Van with a population of 200 thousand, and has more than 100 thousand voters. Almost all of the people there have been under embargo and pressure from the state for a century. Today they are unemployed and poor. Due to unemployment, the majority of the local people work as construction workers in metropolitan cities of Turkey. In the construction sector, where there is no job security, more than 20 young people from Erciş fall from construction and are victims of occupational homicides every year. The people are united under the umbrella of the Green Left Party in the 14 May elections to get rid of the oppression, repression and embargo imposed by the state.

Wan Deputy Candidate Gülderen Varlı, who is from Erciş-Geliyê Zîlan, served as co-chair of HDP Erciş Municipality in the 2014 local elections. Varlı, who was dismissed by state-imposed trustees, served as DBP Van Provincial co-chair in 2020 and continues her active work as a member of the DBP Party Assembly.

The Green Sol Party candidate said that the freedom struggle still continues in the land of Zîlan, where patriotic values flourish. Varlı said that the violence of the state and male power is never lacking in these lands. She said it was her duty to join the struggle and added: “It was inevitable for me to be involved in the social work that made political struggle and organize women. Until the appointment of the trustee, we carried out important work in Erciş, and women were essential in the municipality.”

Varlı said: “We are struggling to build a life with the unique identity of Kurds and women, with patriotic culture, knowledge and awareness. I will fight to organize a life where Kurds live with their own identity and speak their own language.”

Gülderen varlı

Gülderen Varlı was born in the Geliyê Zîlan area of Erciş, a borough of Van. Having completed her primary, secondary and high school education in Erciş, Varlı graduated from the Vocational School of Accounting at Van Yüzüncü Yıl University.