“When the dismissal ban is removed, many people will be fired from their jobs. And women will be fired first,” said Gülistan Atasoy, secretary-general for Women of the Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions (KESK).

ZEYNEP AKGÜL

Ankara- We talked to Gülistan Atasoy, secretary-general for Women of the Confederation of Public Employees' Trade Unions (KESK) about why they demand a Ministry of Women and Equality to be established, why young women’s employment has decreased, and what the Covid-19 pandemic has changed women’s employment.

· You demand a Ministry of Women and Equality be established in order to produce policies with the participation of women. What are your demands?

As you know, the name of the Ministry of Family and Women was changed into the Ministry of Family and Social Policies in 2011 and this shows how the ruling party doesn’t see women as individuals. This change, of course, was not a change aimed at creating social policies allowing women to be empowered in social life. During the 18-year-long AKP rule, the AKP has been trying to keep the social existence of women within the limits of its increasing conservative and sexist practices. Since 2015, the attacks on the public existence of women have increased. In 2016, after the attempted coup, a new ministry was established, the Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Services. Surely, the change of names aimed to not only remove “women” in the name of the ministry but also stop women from being social objects.

As women, we don’t accept these policies by saying “we will not be servants of the family and slaves of capital”. By saying that we are women, not families, we have objected to the gender roles imposed on us, to the sexual division of labor. As KESK, we defend equality in all fields of life against the domination of our body and labor for years. For this reason, we demand a Ministry of Women and Equality be established.

“Suicide rate increases”

· According to the survey entitled, “Research on the Fundamental Problems of Women Workers at Workplaces” conducted by KESK, 92 percent of women are subjected to violence in the workplace. In addition, 48 percent of the women participating in the survey said that they were also subjected to discrimination in their workplaces due to their gender. What kind of violence do women face? What can be done to end violence?

As a result of our research on the main problems of female workers at their workplaces, 92% of women stated that they faced an unfair situation at least once. Women also faced discrimination, verbal violence, physical violence, and sexual violence. In recent years, the number of people who committed suicide due to mobbing they faced has increased. The most basic way to prevent violence is to implement policies and practices to ensure gender equality, to conduct effective investigations based on women's statements, and to establish effective application mechanisms.

“When the dismissal ban is removed, women will be fired first”

· What will happen when the Covid-19 pandemic fades?

As you know, the Covid-19 pandemic has mostly affected the sectors such as seasonal agricultural work, domestic work, service sector, etc. in which most women work. The dismissal of employment contracts has been banned during the pandemic but people have been forced to take unpaid leave. Workers on unpaid leave have been given 1140 Turkish Lira. When the dismissal ban is removed, women will be fired first.”