JINHA

ISTANBUL – 180 women gathered this weekend in Istanbul for a workshop on women's role in the peace and resolution process for the Kurdish issue, with the attendance of the women who make up half of the İmralı Delegation meeting with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.

The Kurdish women's organization Congress of Free Women (KJA) organized the two-day workshop. Women ended the workshop calling for the peace process to take place in a more transparent manner and for meetings to resume on İmralı Island, where Abdullah Öcalan is imprisoned. Perhaps most importantly, they formed the Free Women's Assembly to work as women, the greatest victims of conflict, to secure a lasting, honorable, social peace.

Ceylan Bağrıyanık, of the KJA, is the first woman civil society member to take part in the peace process, launched by Abdullah Öcalan's 2013 Newroz declaration. Ceylan said that women left the conference with a commitment to organizing in a more coordinated way for their role in the peace process through the new Assembly.

"The ones who own this peace process are us, women," she said. "We are going to bring together our thoughts on women's issues and at the same time the social issues in Turkey." She noted that one of the key issues discussed at the workshop was the fact that the ruling AKP has still taken no action on the 10-point plan for the peace process released several months ago, although the AKP agreed on the content of the plan with the İmralı Delegation. The women will be pushing for the implementation of the 10 points, many of which touch on issues of women and gender.

Artist Jülide Kural, who attended the workshop, noted that it was exciting to come together with women from the labor movement, feminist organizations, socialist groups and the Kurdish women's movement.

"As women, we experience particular oppressions. As women, we are the ones saying no to this and organizing for freedom, "said Jülide. " And the nicest part of this is that although we've been separated by our differences, this time we are facing such a permanent and immense problem that we're now here as women to say there can't be a permanent and honorable peace without us."

Meral Danış Beştaş is a candidate for parliament with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and vice co chairperson of the party. She noted that the two-day, four-atelier workshop brought together women from both the Turkish and Kurdish women's movement.

"There's a constituency of women ready to have their say," said Meral.

(ekip/zd/cm)