Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Istanbul MP Züleyha Gülüm spoke to ANF about the government's crackdown on the women's movement.

MULTIFACETED ATTACKS

Gülüm said that the attacks on women have recently increased: “On the one hand, we see that our rights are violated, and the Istanbul Convention is revoked. On the other hand, we see that there has been a wave of attacks on Kurdish women and feminist women who are fighting for women's freedom. The government is trying to prevent our activities and events through detentions and arrests. Attacks on women have become multifaceted.”

STRUGGLE OF KURDISH WOMEN TROUBLES GOVERNMENT

Gülüm noted that the political genocide operation against women, members of Tevgera Jinên Azad (TJA), was part of this wave of attacks: “The attack on November 25, which took place just before the detentions, government crackdown and the decisions taken are all very interconnected. Even though our voices were silenced, all our activities and marches were banned, and the party buildings remained under police blockade, we did not back down from our struggle. A detention operation was recently carried out against female friends from the TJA. The main purpose of the operation was to try to silence women. The government is afraid of women's freedom struggle and feels very uncomfortable. In particular, the struggle of Kurdish women is more troublesome for the government. The struggle of Kurdish women has been praised throughout the world. It has inspired women around the world with the slogan 'Jin, jiyan, azadi' (Woman, Life, Freedom). The government carried out an operation because it felt uneasy about it. We all know very well that the investigations into women have no legal basis. After all, the judiciary is under the influence of the government.”

SPECIAL WAR METHODS

Gülüm pointed out that the women's resistance in Rojhilatê (Iranian) Kurdistan and Iran is very strong and has spread to other parts of society. “Currently, women’s resistance promotes demands for freedom. A strong resistance is continuing against all oppression mechanisms, corruption and male-dominated power structures. In Turkey, the women's freedom struggle and the feminist struggle have become very strong. The government has always been afraid of women's freedom struggle, but this fear has increased following the women's struggle in Iran. The government is particularly alarmed because the recent mass anti-government protests in Iran have been inspired by the Kurdish women's movement. Kurdish women are specifically targeted. Apart from the recent police operations against women, there are also special war methods against them.”

THEY WILL TRY TO SILENCE WOMEN

Gülüm underlined that if the government wins the coming elections, fascism will be institutionalized. “The government is trying to silence all oppositional groups in order to institutionalize fascism. Since women have organized a very strong opposition, the government will first try to silence women. They also find it difficult to justify the crackdown on women. Despite all this wave of attacks, we saw very clearly on November 25 that women did not back down from their struggle.”