MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – Yesterday, women took to the streets in many cities of Turkey, including Kurdish cities, to protest the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini by so-called Iranian morality police. In some cities, women were stopped by police; however, they broke the police barricades by chanting the “Jin, Jiyan, Azadi” slogan. During the protests, women expressed their solidarity with Iranian women and promised to strengthen their struggle against the patriarchal system. Amed was one of the cities, where women took to the streets. We interviewed women participating in the protest in Amed.

“All states have the same attitude against women”

“We, as Kurdish women, have gathered here today to protest the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini by the Iranian regime. Women have protested the Iranian regime not only in Amed but also all around the world. However, all states are like each other. Today, the police tried to block women from holding the protest.  Blocking women from holding a protest means they support the Iranian regime and the killing of women. They say that we can do this by using our power. We feel unsafe here. Our peaceful protests and activities are often banned for security reasons. These bans show how we are unsafe here. All capitalist states have the same attitude against women,” Dicle Amed Women’s Platform (DAKAP) member Arin Zümrüt told us.

“We should be in solidarity with each other against oppression”

“We, as women, are here today to support the struggle for equality,” Republican People's Party (CHP) Amed Women's Branch member Laleş Ertuğrul said, “We came together to defend the rights of all oppressed women in the Middle East. The problems faced by Iranian women are experienced by women in many countries. We face the same oppression here even though it is not as severe as in Iran. Solidarity is the only way to struggle against oppression. No matter where in the world, whenever a woman is exploited, all women should unite and rise up to stop the exploitation. We can end the oppression and exploitation against women by being in solidarity with each other. We must make efforts to rise up against oppression and exploitation.”

“We should stop the ruling mentality”

“All women gathered here today to protest the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran,” Gazal Bayram, a lawyer and women’s rights defender, said, “The killing of Jina Mahsa Amini is actually an attack on all women. We, as women, do not accept this. Women all around the world should rise up against this situation. The march we wanted to hold in Diyarbakır was banned by the governor's office. This ban is unacceptable. We should stop the ruling mentality that makes decisions about our lives.”