January 5 marks the first anniversary of the disappearance of Kurdish student Gülistan Doku from Dersim. On this occasion, the local women's platform calls for a mass protest against state-sponsored patriarchal violence.
January 5, 2021 marks the first anniversary of the disappearance of Kurdish student Gülistan Doku. On this occasion, the Dersim Women's Platform calls for a mass protest against state-sponsored patriarchal violence against women.
Born in Amed (Diyarbakir), 22-year-old childhood education student Gülistan Doku has been missing for almost a year. Fears quickly arose that she might have been the victim of a violent crime. Just one day before her disappearance, her ex-boyfriend Zainal Abakarov had tried to forcefully drag the young woman into his car. Doku resisted and passers-by who had witnessed the incident informed the police. However, the police ruled out the man, whose stepfather - now suspended - is a police officer in Dersim, as a suspect relatively early on. But the authorities have no leads either, even though almost every neighborhood in Dersim is under surveillance 24 hours a day with surveillance cameras and directional microphones. Instead, the police suspect that the student committed suicide. Abakarov has gone into hiding and allegedly cannot be found.
Meanwhile, the struggle of the relatives to clarify the fate of the Munzur University student is systematically criminalized by the Turkish authorities. Vigils and protests for the resumption of the search for Gülistan Doku and the arrest of Abakarov have been violently broken up by the police several times. In addition, the missing woman's mother and sister have been temporarily detained several times. A case is underway against family lawyer Ali Çimen for allegedly violating the secrecy of investigations. The lawyer is accused of disclosing the results of investigations that should be kept confidential.
Struggling women scare the patriarchy
"While our resistance for expanding the investigation into the Gülistan case continues, the escalation of patriarchal violence and state-sponsored rape culture is taking a further downward course," said Dilşat Yeşil of the Dersim Women's Platform at a press conference held at the premises of the Confederation of Trade Unions (KESK) on Monday. She said it is of existential importance for women to take to the streets on the first anniversary of Gülistan Doku's disappearance. "Because fighting women scare the patriarchy," Yeşil said.
