Neslihan Şedal: Special war policies deepen women's poverty
The co-chair of the GABB, Neslihan Şedal, said that ongoing conflicts, special war policies, and the usurpation of municipalities by trustees have deepened women's poverty.
The co-chair of the GABB, Neslihan Şedal, said that ongoing conflicts, special war policies, and the usurpation of municipalities by trustees have deepened women's poverty.
The details of the field work, conducted under the leadership of the Southeast Anatolia Municipalities Union (GABB) Women's Department and in collaboration with the Sur and Rezan municipalities, were published. The report aimed to reveal the dimensions of women's poverty in Amed (Diyarbakır) and develop solutions. The press conference to present the report was held at the Çand Amed Cultural and Conference Center, and was attended by GABB and Van Metropolitan Municipality co-chair Neslihan Şedal, co-mayors from district municipalities, as well as many women.
The field work included face-to-face interviews with 1,866 women aged 18 and over in 31 neighborhoods across Sur and Rezan.
Neslihan Şedal said: "In our fight against poverty, we have started working to examine women's poverty and develop policies to counter it. The establishment of Women's Departments was the first step in this process. In this structure, we have continued our work for women in three areas. On one hand, we built a network to combat violence; on the other hand, we established training and research directorates to challenge sexist ideologies and practices that distort our reality."
Highlighting that a policy leading to an increase in poverty is being intentionally carried out by the government, Neslihan Şedal said: "If the problem of poverty is being politically produced, it is necessary to build a political struggle line against it. We have brought the issue of poverty to our agenda from day one."
Şedal added that conflictual processes, special war policies, and usurping trustees have deepened women's poverty.
Co-mayor of Sur, Gulan Fatma Önkol, said: "We are witnessing the complete destruction of women's labor. In Sur, we are fighting against the exploitation and disregard of women's labor. This fight can also be considered an act of self-defense."
Co-mayor of Rezan, Leyla Ayaz, emphasized that the region is one of the poorest ones, where special war policies are most intensely implemented. Ayaz pointed out that women's spaces are being ignored due to the trustee policies.