2011 Feminist Night March

2011: Invitation to the Press for the Daytime Demonstration and Night March Any of Us Could Be Killed! Women are being killed by the men closest to them What are you waiting for to stop the massacres? The number of femicides, recorded as 66 in 2002, continues to increase every year. More than 5,000 women have been murdered in the last five years. We want a divorce, we are killed. We go out into the street, we are killed. We can also be killed for not passing the salt or not having a meal ready on time. The killers are in our households. The men closest to us! We demand urgent measures from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the government and the judicial authorities so that we are not killed. Today we are outside the courthouse. Because some women find the strength to complain about the men who will kill them and file criminal complaints with prosecutors. Yet despite this, they are not protected and their killings are not prevented. Courts trying women's killers can accept the killers' excuses as reasons and grant them “unjust-provocation sentence reductions”. They thereby strengthen the hand of men who inflict violence on women. Today we are outside the courthouse. Because there is much to be done to prevent women being killed. We no longer want to see irresponsible behaviour from judicial institutions either. Let us remind you once more: there are days when 5-10 women are killed in Turkey. We ask: what are you waiting for to stop the massacres? March 8 Tuesday 10 a.m. Place: Bahariye, Kadıköy Courthouse “We Are in Rebellion Against Femicides” Istanbul Feminist Collective Night March Time: 7:30 p.m., Taksim Tram Stop-Tünel

2011: Call for the March 8 Daytime Demonstration and Night March Tomorrow is March 8! Another March 8 when we cannot say we are celebrating our Women's Day! Not to celebrate March 8, Women's Day, but once again to say together with women “Stop Femicides”, In a country where many women are killed by men every day, - To prosecutors who trivialise women's criminal complaints against violence and do not issue protection orders for women, - To courts that regard killers' reasons as legitimate and apply “unjust-provocation reductions” to their sentences, - To the State Minister Responsible for Women and the Family, who can call this massacre of women isolated incidents, - To the government and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which have not even put this issue on their agenda, let alone established a commission or crisis desk, Women Are Killed Every Day by the Men Closest to Them! To say: What More Are You Waiting for to Stop This Massacre? We will be outside Kadıköy Courthouse at 10 a.m. The Night March is at 7:30 p.m. We are marching from Taksim to Tünel!

2011 Press Statement Dear friends, dear women! Today is March 8! Again another “March 8” when we cannot celebrate Women's Day! Yet March 8 is celebrated everywhere by everyone. What an enormous effort to distance March 8 from the struggle against dominant men's violence and exploitation and from feminism... We have not forgotten that we inherited March 8 from working women's struggle to the death demanding shorter working hours and better working conditions; moreover, we repeat once again to friend and foe that we inherited this day from those who fought the Mustafas who said a woman's back should never be spared the stick. Today, here, we openly shout our solidarity with those whose labor has been appropriated, condemned to slavery at home and lower wages at work, exploited in homes, workplaces and brothels, forced to endure beatings by their fathers and husbands, killed in honour killings, dying in clandestine abortions, sold by international gangs into the prostitution industry, and subjected to harassment and rape on the streets, at work, in war and in custody. LONG LIVE MARCH 8! Rebellion Liberates! Women, Join the STRUGGLE for Our Liberation; Our rebellion; is against men's appropriation of women's labor, bodies and identities. Our rebellion; is against beatings by husbands, against our fathers and older brothers who consider themselves “guardians of our honour”. Our rebellion; is against state violence, torture, harassment and rape by village guards, soldiers and police. Our rebellion; is against men's appropriation of our labor at home... Against doing housework and care work and working as unpaid family workers, while our labor is not seen. Our rebellion; is against those who exploit us in the capitalist market, consider our labor cheap because we are women and do not want to be second-class, fail to give us equal wages for equal work, and divide work in a sexist way. Our rebellion; is against bosses and male-dominated unions that fail to see capitalism's assault on women workers, join arms with male domination and do not share their leadership with women. Our rebellion; is against being unable to live our sexuality freely, against male domination imposing heterosexism on us. Also against the exclusion and disregard of lesbians, against violence directed at transvestite and transgender women and against hate crimes. Our rebellion; is against leaving unhealed the wounds of Kurdish women whose language has been banned and whose identity has been denied. Our rebellion is against those who cannot say “Long Live the Sisterhood and Brotherhood of Peoples!” Our rebellion is against MEN'S VIOLENCE, our rebellion is AGAINST THE KILLING OF WOMEN... This year too; we were killed for not wanting to go to bed with men, for not passing the salt, for wanting a divorce. This year too; our killers were husbands, former spouses, fathers, brothers and lovers. This year too, while men killed women, the male-dominated state protected male killers through all its institutions. This year too; the police stations we asked to save us from our husbands' beatings and implement “protective laws” sent us home. Prosecutors' offices where we often went with blackened eyes and wounded lips to file criminal complaints decided to abandon prosecution without their hands trembling. The Institute of Forensic Medicine, which we waited for both hopelessly and angrily to give appointments in rape cases, continued to protect rapists through its decisions. Over the past year too, courts reduced killers' sentences to next to nothing in the killing of women under the pretext of “unjust provocation”, in other words “sentence reductions for manhood”. This year too; we continued the struggle against sexual violence, not only against those outside our circles but also against those beside us. Although we knew that men with whom we struggle in the same union and the same party are not free of male domination, we were still shaken and saddened by what happened around us. Most recently, a woman employee at KESK said an executive had harassed her. What happened afterwards openly showed how important it is to take women's statements as the basis in harassment and rape cases, and that disregarding this principle or saying “women's statements are important, but...” means disregarding the woman subjected to sexual harassment and the gains of women's organising. This year too; in the World Economic Forum's 2010 report, Turkey fell from 121st to 126th among 134 countries in “gender equality”, but nothing changed for state institutions. The prime minister kept repeating to women “Have 3 children.” Yet this March 8 we would have liked to say that women no longer face violence. We would have liked to say that when women face violence, one shelter is available for every 7,500 women and children, and that this many shelters have been opened according to European Union standards. We would have liked no longer to repeat that the number of shelters has still not reached 100. We would have liked to announce that when women want to escape violence, their economic security is provided, that men's violence is no longer legitimate, and that women going to court does not lead to their being killed. Yet this year too, the state took no measures to eliminate the dominant male mentality, prevent the exploitation of women's bodies and labor, or reduce physical, psychological and economic violence against women. Except for news of the draft law hastily announced before March 8, we have nothing in our hands. We demand urgent measures, not laws likely to remain on paper. We call out to parliament, the government and judicial authorities: women are killed every day by their male relatives. What are you waiting for to stop them? Today is March 8! The history of March 8 is the history of women's resistance. We salute March 8 as women's day of rebellion. Together we are strong; together, through rebellion, we will become stronger. LONG LIVE MARCH 8, LONG LIVE OUR STRUGGLE! Istanbul Feminist Collective

2011 Press Statement Dear friends, dear women Today is March 8! Another March 8 when we cannot celebrate Women's Day! Yet March 8 is celebrated everywhere, by everyone. What an enormous effort to distance March 8 from being a day of struggle against the violence and exploitation of male rulers, what an enormous effort to distance March 8 from feminism... Just as we do not forget that we inherited March 8 from women workers' struggle to the death in the eighteen hundreds for shorter working hours and better working conditions, we repeat once again to friend and foe that we also inherited it from those who fought the Mustafas who said a woman's back should never be without a beating. Today, here, we shout our solidarity with those whose labor is appropriated, those condemned to slavery at home and low pay at work, those exploited in factories, brothels, homes, wherever they may be, those forced to endure beatings by fathers, husbands and men, those murdered in “honour” killings, those dying in clandestine abortions, those sold into the prostitution industry by international gangs, those subjected to harassment and rape on the streets, at work, in war and in custody... LONG LIVE MARCH 8 / LONG LIVE MARCH 8 Rebellion Liberates! Women, INTO THE STRUGGLE for Our Liberation; Our rebellion; is against men's appropriation of women's labor, bodies and identities; our rebellion is against the PATRIARCHAL ORDER Our rebellion; is against beatings by husbands, against our fathers and older brothers who appoint themselves “guardians of our honour”. Our rebellion; is against our bodies not being left to us, but being surrendered to the male state and to men. Our rebellion; is against state violence, torture, harassment and rape by village guards, soldiers and police Our rebellion; is against men's appropriation of our labor at home... Against our labor being invisible while we do housework and care work, and also work as unpaid family workers. Our rebellion; is against exploitation in the capitalist market, against additionally being cheap labor and secondary because we are women, against the sexist division of labor. Our rebellion; is against bosses. Our rebellion is against male unions that fail to see capitalism's assault on women workers as it joins arms with patriarchy, that do not share their leadership with women. Our rebellion; is against being unable to live our sexuality freely, against patriarchy imposing heterosexism on us. Against lesbians being excluded and disregarded, against violence inflicted on transvestite and transsexual women, against hate killings. Our rebellion; is against leaving unhealed the wounds of Kurdish women, the primary victims of the years-long war on these lands, whose identities are denied and whose language is banned. Our rebellion is against those who cannot say long live the siblinghood of peoples. Our rebellion is against MALE VIOLENCE, our rebellion is against FEMICIDES... This year too; we were killed for not wanting to make love, for not passing the salt, for wanting a divorce (...). This year too, our killers were husbands, former husbands, fathers, brothers and lovers. This year too, as men killed, the male state protected the male killer through all its institutions. This year too; we were sent back home from police stations where we had fled our husbands' beatings and asked for “protective laws” to be applied. Prosecutors' offices where we often went to file criminal complaints with bruised eyes and split lips issued decisions not to prosecute without their hands trembling. The Institute of Forensic Medicine, which we waited for, both desperate and angry, to give us appointments in rape cases, continued to protect rapists through its decisions. Over the past year too, courts reduced killers' sentences to next to nothing in femicide cases by granting unjust-provocation reductions, in other words “manhood discounts”. This year too; we continued the struggle against sexual violence not only against those outside our circles, but also against those beside us. Although we knew that the men with whom we struggle in the same union, the same party, are not free of male domination, we were still shaken and saddened by what happened right beside us. Most recently, a woman employee at KESK stated that an executive had harassed her. What followed clearly showed how important it is as a principle to take the woman's statement as the basis in cases of harassment and rape, and that a path pursued by disregarding this principle or saying “the woman's statement is the basis, but...” means disregarding the woman subjected to sexual harassment and the gains of women's organising. This year too; in the World Economic Forum's 2010 report Turkey fell from 121st to 126th among 134 countries in “equality between women and men”, but nothing changed in terms of state institutions. The prime minister continued to tell women “give birth to 3 children”. Yet this March 8 we would have liked to say that women no longer suffer violence. We would have liked to say that shelters women can go to when they suffer violence have been opened in accordance with European Union standards, one for every 7,500 women and children. We would have liked to leave behind repeating that the number of shelters still does not even reach 100. We would have liked to announce that women are provided with economic security when they want to escape violence, that male violence is no longer legitimate, that reaching the courthouse doors is now a guarantee that women will not be killed. Yet this year too, the state took no measures to erode the male-dominated mentality, prevent the exploitation of women's bodies and labor, or slow physical, psychological and economic violence against women. We have nothing in our hands except news of a draft law hastily announced before March 8. We demand urgent measures, not laws likely to remain on paper. We call out to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the government and judicial authorities: women are killed every day by the men close to them. What more are you waiting for to stop it? Today is March 8! The history of March 8 is the history of women's resistance. We salute March 8 as women's day of rebellion. We are strong together; rebelling together, we will be stronger. LONG LIVE MARCH 8, LONG LIVE OUR STRUGGLE Istanbul Feminist Collective

2011: Email from İllet* Ahead of the Evaluation Meeting Hello, We are writing this text having learned that an evaluation meeting will be held about the March 8 night march. As women/trans people who participated in this march, we want to attend this evaluation meeting, share our feelings and thoughts, give and receive criticism, convey our words and listen to others' views. But our concerns, too, reach beyond mountains. We cannot be sure it will be a space where we can speak sincerely together, in an environment where no one is judged or interrogated and hierarchy is not reproduced. During the march, some of our friends were subjected to violence by some women present there, and we witnessed some others suffering violence that went beyond criticism and even imposition. We cannot locate what we experienced within any kind of feminism (its essence, if there is one; its true form, if there is one; its ethics, if there are any; and so on). Some of our friends were treated as deliberate saboteurs, and some of us were subjected to various insults. We hear that the contents of the banners we carried are being discussed in various email groups. We do not know whether anyone has questioned the form of the criticisms directed at placards, the “warnings” made, the insults hurled during the action, and even the interventions directly imposed on our bodies. As a result of these events we experienced, we are concerned about being subjected during the meeting too to an aggressive tone and a condescending gaze, about being placed in the position of the “group under scrutiny”. And we need this sensitivity to be taken into account, with “violence” the first item on the agenda. Before we can undertake any assessment of content, we first need this ethical condition to be met. See you at the evaluation meeting. Sent by: İllet * “İllet is an anti-authoritarian autonomous collective centred on lesbians, bisexuals, queer, intersex and trans people, on the side of pleasure and resistance. İllet is a monster that takes on the appearance of an owl at night, a witch burned in the Middle Ages, a feminist haunting patriarchy, a trans man admitted neither to a women's party nor to the coffeehouse. In newspapers, it is the ‘killer lesbian’, the ‘cleaver-wielding transvestite’. It is our desires we deny, the pressure identities place upon us, the revolutionary who wants to dance.” Source: https://illetblog.wordpress.com/

2011: The Istanbul Feminist Collective's Statement on Participation in the March 8 Daytime Rally Hello, During the contentious process in the March 8 Platform's preparatory meetings for the rally, the platform had reached agreement on naming the sexual harassment that occurred at KESK and including it in the rally statement. Afterwards, DÖKH stated that it did not consider the expression “woman subjected to sexual harassment” correct and demanded its removal from the text. At this point, because we did not consider it right to debate the wording and seek a compromise expression, we withdrew as the Istanbul Feminist Collective from the process of organising the rally. This stance by DÖKH, with whom we place great importance on struggling together, against saying “sexual harassment exists”, damaged trust for us. However, despite this stance, we see the collective will shown within the platform to oppose sexual harassment and act in solidarity as very important. At the end of this process, our own enthusiasm for the rally and sense of solidarity were damaged, and different views emerged about whether to attend. There is no difference of opinion among us about naming what happened at KESK sexual harassment, but as a result of the process some friends think it right to attend and others not to attend. For this reason, we decided not to participate as an organised group in the March 8 Rally to be held on March 5. As the Istanbul Feminist Collective, we will not be at the rally this year. Istanbul Feminist Collective

March 2011 Programme March 5 Rally Information March 8 Night March March 8 Daytime Event March 3 and March 7 Poster Posting March 8 e-bulletin March 8 Tuesday Time: 10 a.m., We Are Outside Kadıköy Courthouse Against Femicides. Time: 7:30 p.m., Feminists' Night March Meeting place: Taksim Tram Stop We are marching from Taksim to Tünel. Time: 9:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Entertainment at Haymatlos