WOMEN in TMMOB: WE WILL NOT CAVE IN DARKNESS IN ANY CASE NO MATTER IT IS STATE OF EMERGENCY OR NOT

TO PRESS AND PUBLIC OPINION

Mirabel sisters, Patria, Minerva and Maria Teresa… Also known as Butterflies…

These three sisters whose names reached today and known by their fight against dictatorship, struggled dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo who ruled Republic of Dominic from 1930 to 1961.

These three sisters, who led Clandistina (Propaganda) movement bravely fought against dictatorship, were arrested several times and at the end when coming from visit their partners in prison, they were raped and murdered brutally by soldiers of the dictatorship. Their bodies were found at the bottom of a cliff in the north region of Republic of Dominic. Their murdered was announced by the dictatorship as a traffic accident.

Murder of these women who became symbol of courage against oppression had made butterfly effect and Trujillo was killed 7 months later.

In 1981 in the 1st Latin America and Caribbean Women Congress met in Bogota, capital city of Colombia, 25th November the day that Mirabel sisters were killed was accepted as “International Solidarity Day against Violence against Women”. In 1985, by United Nations (UN) it was declared as “Fight Violence against Women and International Solidarity Day.”

We, women from TMMOB, greet November 25th Fight Violence against Women and International Solidarity Day, by bowing respectfully to memories of all women who became target of violence against women and by supporting struggle for equality and freedom of women who claim for their labor, body, identity, culture throughout history.

It is for sure that our sentences formed in the TMMOB 5th Women’s Congress realized within conditions shaped by State of Emergency declared being used July 15th coup attempt as an excuse will not please sovereigns crowning their existence by means of oppressive woman policies.

In the period of State of Emergency in which AKP-Palace fascism has continued to increasingly oppress whole society, to 2016 Turkish Statistical Institute data four out of every 10 women are subjected to physical violence by their husband of partner. Furthermore, number of employed women to be half of employed men and despite same education level, women to earn less money than men display size of economic violence. Only last month, men killed 21 women, raped 13 women, sexually harassed 17 women, sexually abused 28 girls. In addition, we think that women who had to watch their children to be killed due to war policies have been subjected to the greatest violence ever. Unfortunately we, women, pay the price for wars decided by men.

Palace regime that would like to easily maintain its autocratic regime established by means of a society which does not question, is obedient and abstemious represents patriarchal mentality including abandoning of modern, scientific, and secular education system, encouragement of child marriages and rejection of abortion, issuing law for mufti, complicating divorce, hindering women from employment through flexible working models.

 A fearful climate would like to be created through social conflict by war policies that maintained both inside and outside of Turkey, marginalization of people who think differently, silencing political oppositions and commoving hatred added to gendered policies and arguments of the government.

More than 100 thousand workers were dismissed by 28 Decrees Having Force of Law. Number of engineer, architect, urban planners that we identified is about 3000, 300 of which are women. Number of academicians dismissed from faculties of engineering is 683, 70 of which are women. Among the ones dismissed, there are previous and recent staffs of TMMOB.

We know that there are many female engineers, architects, urban planners working contract based who lost their job or whose contract were not renewed.

After coup attempt, Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça who were illegally –without based on any concrete evidence and executing a fair trail- dismissed started to hunger strike. They were taken into custody many times during several months and then they were arrested due to the fact that they insisted on continuing their protests. Nuriye Gülmen is in hospital as a prisoner and Semih Özakça continues to hunger strike at his home.

Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça announced several times that they would have finished hunger strike as soon as they returned their jobs. Tissue destruction due to elongated hunger gest heavier day by day and being up and about has become impossible. This is why Nuriye and Semih to go back their jobs carry a vital importance.

Commission for Investigating State of Emergency Implementations should urgently examine their application and enable them to go back their job. This decision should be taken immediately. Nuriye and Semih should be released.

In a kind of a climate, fighting violence against women and solidarity day become crucial. We understand very well both Maria Teresa Mirabal who said “perhaps what we have most near is death, but that idea does not frighten me, we shall continue to fight for that which is just” and Patria Mercedes Mirabal who said "We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt in this corrupt and tyrannical regime, we have to fight against it and am  willing to give up everything, including my life if necessary." As it is in lesson we learnt from Mirabel sisters, oppressive policies regarding women will cause closing the ranks in our struggle.

We do not accept government’s efforts to standardize us. We believe that a world in which every individual can express her/his self in her/his mother tongue can only be created by women.

We would like everybody to know that we, as female engineers, architects and urban planners of Turkey, will not sit and wait in front of middle age darkness flopping down on our society. We will not obey reactionism and corrosion surrounding whole country, heavy atmosphere, regime of State of Emergency, and oppressive and deterrent policies implemented in every area. Future of our country and solution of our problems depend on rule of law not despotism, protection of secular way of living not dogmatism, and sovereignty of social justice and democracy.

It should be known that engineer, architect and urban planner women of this country will continue to resist increasing oppression on their labor, body and lives, to defend light versus darkness, peace versus war, to cry out existence of equality, freedom in other words existence of another world.

WE WILL NOT GIVE UP OUR RIGHTS NO MATTER IT IS STATE OF EMERGENY OR NOT.

Long Live Women’s Solidarity!

Long Live Organization of Women in TMMOB