JINHA

AMED – Turkish state prosecutors have prepared charges against Kurdish woman co-mayor Gültan Kışanak for a speech she gave on March 8, International Working Women’s Day.

Gültan Kışanak, co-mayor of the largely Kurdish city of Diyarbakır, spoke to the crowd at a rally for International Working Women’s Day on March 8 of this year. Turkish state prosecutors, calling the speech “propaganda for an illegal organization,” have prepared charges against the city’s first woman co-mayor.

A massive crowd had gathered in İstasyon Square that day. The international World March of Women was in Diyarbakır for the beginning of their months-long solidarity march across Turkey and Europe. The march had started several days before, just across the border from the autonomous region of Rojava, where they began their march with the massive attendance of Kurdish women.

“Women are growing their march to freedom, step by step,” said Gültan at the rally. “Today, in the YPJ, there has begun a non-stop women’s revolution in Kurdistan. We will spread this revolution to all of Kurdistan, the Middle East and the world. Let this be our promise to revolutionary women. Greetings to Palestinian, Afghan, Iranian, Latin American and all the revolutionary women of the world.

“Daesh’s mindset was defeated in Kobanê and it will be defeated around the world. I condemn the killers of Özgecan, Medine and many more women,” said the co-mayor, referring to notable women femicide victims in Turkey. “We will stop femicide with our struggle. We succeeded in this in Kobanê and we will continue to succeed.” Gültan referenced the writings of the jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, who made women’s liberation central to his thinking.

“Mr. Öcalan directed us to struggle against femicide, against men. Greetings from here to Mr. Abdullah Öcalan. I bow in respect before all women revolutionaries,” said Gültan.

(gc/cm)