TERZE TAHA

Sulaymaniyah – Bazian is a town located southwest of the Sulaymaniyah city in the east of the Kurdistan Region. As of 2020, the population of the town is about 50,000. The women of Bazian, who have been subjected to violence, cannot make their voices heard because they don’t have any women organizations in the town. They also say when they are subjected to violence by their closest relatives such as their spouses, fathers, brothers, or sons; they cannot make their voices heard due to the patriarchal society in the town. The most important demand of the women is to have a women’s organization in the town. 45-year-old Fatma Mehmud is one of these women.

“Many women are subjected to violence”

Fatma Mehmud has been also subjected to violence. “Many women are subjected to violence. You cannot know how women are subjected to violence without talking to them. I know many women, who cannot go out to buy something for themselves. Men don’t allow women to go out. Women are confined to the home. Men think women have to stay at home. We should change this mentality,” she told NuJINHA.

“Women are not respected”

37-year-old Şêxan Mehemed Salih spoke to our news agency about violence against women in the town. “We want to be free but we face male violence. Women are not respected by many men. For this reason, women should definitely be more sensitive; children should be raised by parents and teachers on the basis of equality.”

“Where there is no organization, gender-based violence is common”

57-year-old Emine Ehmed emphasized the importance of women’s organizations. “Where there is no organization, gender-based violence is common,” she said that many women are subjected to violence in the town, “because there is no women’s organization and no data about violence against women has been collected.”

“2 out of 3 women are victims of violence”

Activist Neşmîl Îbrahîm told us that two out of three women in the town are victims of violence. “Men inflict all forms of violence against women. They don’t only batter women but also prevent women from going out. Women don’t only face y physical violence but also psychological violence.”

Neşmîl Îbrahîm has been a member of the Yekîtî Women’s Organization since 1983. Neşmîl İbrahim thinks that women's rights in the town are weakening day by day, “This should be prevented.”

“Education can make a difference”

Sîver Sitar is an activist carrying out awareness-raising works in the town. Stating that especially young women face social pressure, Sîver Sitar said, “Parents oppress their children in the name of honor. Education can make a difference in society. Therefore, studies to improve the education system should be carried out here.”