MAMIHAN HALBIN ZIDAN

Van – In the face of attempts to marginalize women and exclude them from economic and social life, women's initiatives turn into spaces for enhancing the capacity to produce and make decisions.

In this context, the Aven Women's Cooperative in the city of Van in northern Kurdistan, which has continued its activities without interruption since 2015, presents a tangible model for confronting economic violence and the pressures imposed on women, and for building a pattern of collective life based on solidarity and shared production.

Shahriban Adsaz, a graduate of the Fashion Design Department who has worked in the cooperative for about three years as a trainer and producer, believes that the cooperative transcends being merely a space for work or an economic model.

She added: "We work in the cooperative in two main fields: textiles and food production." She noted that "my involvement in the cooperative stemmed, first of all, from being a woman. The violence, pressures, and dictates imposed by the masculine mentality on women within society, and the attempts to entrench the image of women as (the weaker link), pushed me to search for a space in which I resist this reality and stand up to it."

She pointed out that over the years she participated in activities and initiatives aimed at enhancing women's status and empowering them economically and socially. Through this journey, she reached the Aven Women's Cooperative. "For about three years I have continued my work inside the cooperative. At the beginning, by virtue of my specialization and graduation from the Fashion Design Department, I took on training and production tasks in the field of textiles. Today, I participate in the cooperative as an active member."

Expanding the Scope of the Cooperative

Shahriban Adsaz explained that the cooperative began its work with the participation of only seven women, before its scope gradually expanded to reach twenty participating women. She confirmed that empowering women to discover their capabilities and potential and develop them constitutes one of its most important goals.

She said: "Our cooperative is not merely a model for work and earning income, but a real space for solidarity. Here women support one another, produce together, and make their decisions collectively. We seek to increase women's presence in social life, and to prepare a more free, equal, and democratic space based on principles and preserving for women their right to be active and influential in their society."

Within the framework of the cooperative's endeavor to enhance its institutional presence and entrench its position, Shahriban Adsaz pointed to the existence of a number of projects aimed at developing the cooperative's situation. She explained that they have submitted the necessary proposals and projects to the relevant institutions and bodies.

She noted that "after submitting our projects, we received positive responses from the relevant authorities, and we plan to put these projects into implementation as soon as possible. I have great confidence that, through joint work with women and achieving real accomplishments, we will be able to reach the goals we have set and achieve what we aspire to."

Products Carrying Women's Imprint and Preserving Heritage

Regarding what the cooperative produces, she says: "We started with producing ready-made clothing, but today we are moving more toward traditional clothing, in an attempt to preserve our cultural heritage and revive it through work and production. New techniques and methods also allow us to develop women's skills and enhance their capabilities in the field of handicrafts. More importantly, this work provides them with a source of income and contributes to enhancing their independence and self-confidence. The woman who works with us here does not only obtain material income, but also acquires a feeling of strength and confidence, because she realizes that she is an active part of the production process and is capable of making something with her own hands."

Despite the diversity of products the cooperative produces, women face a fundamental challenge represented by the limited marketing and sales channels. Shahriban Adsaz explained that until now there is no fixed and dedicated space for marketing products, which pushes the cooperative to resort to various institutions and bodies to dispose of its products, alongside participating in exhibitions and events and setting up stalls to introduce women's products and reach consumers.

She added that the current economic conditions increase the difficulty of the production and marketing process. "The economic crisis affecting various fields is also reflected on us. From time to time we face difficulties in marketing our products and securing points of sale, and therefore we need support in order to overcome these obstacles and continue working."

She said at the end of her interview: "We have been able, over time, to build an atmosphere resembling a family among us, and this place has become a space that brings women together and gives them strength and support. I believe that a woman, when she believes in her capabilities and finds the space that enables her to work and produce, can achieve a lot. There is nothing that women desire and cannot reach if the circumstances, will, and appropriate space are available. Our ambition today is to reach more women, to open the doors of the cooperative before them, and to continue working to expand this experience and enhance solidarity among women."