Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Agirî MP Dilan Dirayet Taşdemir spoke to ANF about the elections to be held on 14 May.

Taşdemir said that the 2023 elections are of critical importance for the future of the country because, “after this election, Turkey will either evolve into a democracy or into a dictatorship. This will be an even more important election for women. For the last 21 years, the AKP government has been carrying out policies that reject all the gains of women, try to darken the visibility of women in all spheres of life, in public life, in the way they participate in politics and within the family, and try to cancel the subjectivity of women as a whole. There is an AKP government that is quite uncomfortable with the freedom of women, who are subjects in social life and can make decisions in political life.”

Taşdemir added: “The AKP tries to pull women back using either social perception or the law. This regime is a male and misogynistic alliance. This regime must lose in order for women's future, freedom and gains to be protected and able to develop and for women to live in a more democratic country. Women are bound to these elections for their freedom. They are aware that the way to weave a more egalitarian life is for this regime to lose.”

Importance of Law No.6284

Taşdemir also spoke about Law No. 6284, which was brought up for discussion by the People's Alliance [the AKP-MHP alliance], and continued as follows: “Law No. 6284 is a law that protects women against violence. It is a law that imposes responsibilities on states in this sense. It is a law that makes the state responsible in cases of violence against women. This law was on the agenda of the AKP for a long time. The same situation occurred with the Istanbul Convention. The government withdrew overnight from the Convention and women were very severely affected by this decision. Now, 6284, an achievement of the women's movement, has been put up for discussion. But on the way to the elections, there was serious opposition from women. Although there are different voices within the AKP, there is an ideological point of view that removes women completely from the protection of the state and wants to eliminate the responsibility of the state.”

Women pay the bill for the crisis

Taşdemir talked about what women experienced in the region hit by the earthquake and said: “The needs of women in earthquake areas were perceived as unimportant. After the earthquake, we witnessed how, in times of crisis or disaster, all responsibility is left on women's shoulders. Women who lost their families or relatives had to carry out tasks that were the responsibility of the state to hold on to life. The state left women alone as if it was their job to do. They were left to provide for laundry as well as cooking, child care and dealing with the psychology of the family, to keep social relations alive. The disaster in the earthquake regions turned into a major crisis and women paid the heaviest bill because of the neglect of the state.”