MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed- “Jiyan District Market” is Turkey’s first all-women district market located in the Bağcılar Neighborhood of Diyarbakır’s Bağlar district. 200 women sellers have worked at the market and they have tried to survive despite the economic crisis in Turkey. Bağlar Municipality has recently made a decision to place 400 men sellers at the market and women sellers don’t want any men working at the all-women district market.

It was founded before the appointment of the trustee

Before the appointment of a trustee to the Bağlar Municipality, most of the directors and vice directors working for the municipality were women. Jiyan District Market project was put into practice in 2013 to support women having a small income. Women set up their market stalls at the Jiyan District Market every Saturday and they set up their market stalls in different parts of Bağlar district on the other days.

“They want to come to our place because we earn more now”

Men sellers want to work at the all-women market due to the increasing population of the district. One of the female sellers, Güler Eker told us they have been kept under pressure to allow men, “We have worked at this market for nine years. We know our job very well and what we should do now. When we first started working here, no one cared about us. But now, men want to work in our market because we do our job very well. Now, 200 women work at the market, the Bağlar Municipality wants to increase our number by bringing 400 men sellers. We will have a hard time if men start working here. For this reason, we don’t want any men to work at the market.”

“They want us to go home”

Pointing out that if men start working at the market, their income will decrease, Güler Eker said, “This is our place, there are many street markets all over the city. This market is an all-women market, why do they try to place men sellers at the market? As women, we are happy to work together. If men sellers come here to work, our business will go worse, and then we will have to go home.  They want us to go home not work. I don’t want to ask for money from my husband or my son. I'm used to making my own money. I don’t want to live by asking for money from someone. I stand on my own legs and take care of my children.”

“They want to take what we earn”

Keziban Demir is another woman seller working at the market. She told us that they will resist the decision and that they will not accept men to work at the all-women market. “Men will cause problems for us. But we are not the same as before. We say that we don’t accept what they are doing now and that we will resist to the end. Why don't they give women priority? They have tried to do this for years. We work here and earn money but they want to take what we earn. We will not leave the market.”

“We will not leave but resist”

Fatma Kaya also reacted to the decision taken by the municipality and said, “We have worked at this market for years. Before, men sellers didn’t like this market. But now they want to take our market from us. If they work here, the women’s market will lose its meaning. We don’t accept any men to work here, we will resist to the end. We will not leave our market.”