JINHA

ŞIRNEX - Feminist acticists are in Cizre for solidarity with the women in the town. One of these activists Hülya Osmanağaoğlu said, "Women have been threatened and harassed. The people, who went into the people's houses and wrote gendered graffiti, walk around in Cizre.Women cannot walk around in the streets and in their homes without being worried.

Many people have come to the Cizre district of Şırnak from the cities of Turkey and other countries to support the people in the town after genocidal attacks which continued for 79 days. Feminist activists came to Cizre for solidarity with women. The activists shared their impressions in Cizre. One of these activists is Hülya Osmanağaoğlu. Hülya told us their purpose to come Cizre. She stated that they came to Cizre for solidarity with women and be a part of Cizre people's problems. Hülya said, "We have been a witness to mobbing which has been imposed on women by state forces.

"We came here with the call of the Free Women's Congress (KJA). Of course, all of us are aware that gendered policies have been imposed on women since the war policies were begun in 1990s. I was here six months ago. I realised that this violence has been institutionalized increasingly when I returned to here last time. Police walk around the town carelessly. They can stop whoever they want. They can treat these people however they want.

"Women cannot move in the streets and in their homes without being worried. State forces wrote graffiti. They wrote, "Girls, we've come, where are you? The state wrote these graffiti to disturb the women.

"Violence against women isn't a threat here. Police have written their phone numbers on a paper and they have given their phone number to girls who go to high schools by force. We learn that the police have called the women, who lost their releatives, and they have threatened and harassed the women.

"We have tried to do our best for the Cizre women. We will try to raise the voice of women in Turkey when we return to Istanbul. Restarting the peace process will be a hope for women. Everyone must know that the state's violence would be imposed in Istanbul and other cities of Turkey if the youths didn't resist here."

(aı/dk/gd)