News Center- The Mesopotamia Women Journalists’ Association and the Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) have released written statements to mark Kurdish Women’s Journalists’ Day, celebrated every year on October 7 since Gurbetelli Ersöz, a Kurdish journalist and Türkiye’s first female editor-in-chief, was killed on October 7, 1997.

“Gurbetelli Ersöz was a brave revolutionary, journalist and women's rights defender who did not take a step back despite oppression,” said the statement released by the Mesopotamia Women Journalists’ Association. “In memory of Gurbetelli, who lost her life on October 7, 1997, Kurdish women journalists keep struggling to make the voices of women heard. This struggle highlights the importance of women taking their deserved spaces in media and social life.

Women journalists keep pursuing the truth against gendered language used by the media despite all kinds of oppression, detentions and arrests, the statement stressed. “Kurdish women journalists, who are subjected to oppression and threats while reporting, work devotedly to maintain the existence of a free press. Journalist Rabia Önver has been subjected to oppression for her reports in Hakkari and this shows how women journalists are oppressed. Despite all the oppression, Rabia and Kurdish women journalists like her keep pursuing the truth.”

Mentioning the killings of two journalists in Sulaymaniyah, the statement said, “This year, we also commemorate Gülistan Tara and Hero Bahadin, who were killed in a Turkish drone attack in Sulaymaniyah. This attack is part of the ongoing crackdown on the tradition of free press and women journalists. Gülistan and Hero, just like Gurbetelli and Nagihan, went down in history with their resistance as defenders of the free press. In addition, we commemorate journalist and academic Nagihan Akarsel, who was killed in Sulaymaniyah on October 4, 2022. Nagihan made great efforts to develop and spread Jineology, women’s science, and has become one of the symbols of the women's struggle for freedom.”

Commemorating all the free press workers who lost their lives in the person of journalists Gurbetelli Ersöz, Nagihan Akarsel, Gülistan Tara and Hero Bahadin, the association said, “We vow to maintain their legacy with determination. As Kurdish women journalists, we believe that the truth will not remain in the darkness with the ‘Jin, Jiyan, Azadi’ philosophy.”

‘We stand firm to write the truth’

The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) has also released a written statement on social media platforms.

“On this day, which has been celebrated as Kurdish Women Journalists’ Day for eight years, we are once again proud to carry on this precious legacy. The legacy left by Gurbetelli lights the way of Kurdish women journalists and makes their determination to fight under any circumstances visible again. The women journalists, who do not leave Gurbetelli’s pen on the ground, stand firm to write the truth despite the masculine language of the media. We celebrate the day of our colleagues, Kurdish women journalists who do not give up and pursue the truth despite the policies of oppression, detention, arrest, ignorance and destruction, and we commemorate our journalist colleagues, particularly Gurbetelli Ersöz, who sacrificed themselves for pursuing the truth.”