Activities led by Democratic Free Women's Movement (DÖKH) have been taking place for International Women's Day, March 8, across the Kurdish region for the last several days. Women attending the activities called on the ruling AKP government to take sincere steps to ensure a solution to the Kurdish question which has mainly made Kurdish women suffer losses of their children and husbands.

This year's 8 March activities across the Kurdish region have been dedicated to Sakine Cansız, a co-founder of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Fidan Doğan, representative of the Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) in Paris, and Leyla Şaylemez, member of the Kurdish youth movement, who were murdered in Paris on 9 January.

The activity in Van's Saray district laid stress on the necessity of a women's sturuggle to defeat the male dominant system. "We will not remain silent any more against suicides and killings", they said.

Women in Van's Muradiye district remembered Sakine Cansız, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Şaylemez and promised to keep their struggle going for peace and justice.

Women attending the activities in Van's Gürpınar district voiced their demands for the ending of women killings, release of women prisoners and the rape culture women across the country are suffering from. Speaking here, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Van provincial chair Miyesser Uras said that; "A society cannot be free without the liberation of women, just like Mr. Öcalan has always stated". Speaking after, Zekiya Kaya, member of Peace Mothers Initiative in Van, called on the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to bring and end to deaths and tears in the country.

Women in Van's Başkale district also remembered Cansız, Doğan and Şaylemez and called for an end to the ongoing dirty war in the country.

DÖKH activists in Mardin's Midyat district called on the government to end ongoing military operations in Kandil to make sure that the process of talks with the Kurdish leader, Abdullah Öcalan, can make an advance.

Women in Hakkari's Şemdinli district also remembered three Kurdish politicians killed in Paris and called for a solution to the Kurdish problem in the country.