Women have recently discussed “self-defense” very much. News about femicides and women using “self-defense” has been observed in recent years. The campaign called, “We defend ourselves” launched by the TJA calls on women to use their self-defense against all kinds of violence. TJA activist Seval Gülme said, “Our aim is to form self-defense against the extermination of women.”

Amed- The campaign “Em Xwe dıparêzın” (We defend ourselves) launched by the Free Women’s Movement (TJA) is ongoing. The aim of the campaign is to form self-defense against the extermination of women. We talked to Seval Gülme, an activist of the TJA and co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) in Amed, about the campaign.

Can you give us some information about the campaign?

We launched the campaign a long time ago. The reason for launching the campaign is to respond to increasing femicide and genocide against women in Turkey.  Many living things have self-defense of their own. Even when you pick up a plant, it defends itself with its thorn. No living creature waits to die. We launched this campaign against femicide, violence against women, and exploitation of women.

Can we say that the campaign is actually organizing women's self-defense?

We needed such a campaign to create our own self-defense with the defense tactics, women have been practiced for years. Women have found in this struggle for thousands of years. We kicked off the campaign to raise awareness against all kinds of violence against women. The campaign still continues. We are the continuation of women who have been fighting for their own lives for thousands of years. We know that women have faced femicide throughout history.

Do women have reactions or interest in the campaign?

In our region, there is a resistance inside women. We started working and taking the streets to remind and reveal this spirit of resistance. We have come together with women by organizing seminars, panels, and events since September. The campaign gives great confidence to women and other segments of their society. Women have new hope now.

Do you have any difficulties continuing the campaign during the Covid-19 pandemic?

Surely, we have faced some difficulties due to the pandemic but we are going through the process in which women try to understand themselves and get to know them again. All women playing pioneering roles should return to self-defense practices and live freely with society. Women resist in every area against pressures.

We have come together with thousands of women in Turkey until now. We rarely organize our events due to the pandemic; we still organize workshops and meetings for women.