Women gathered in Mêrdîn (Mardin) under the leadership of Women's Platform for Equality (EŞİK) and protested the appointment of trustees to municipalities with a march. Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs Saliha Aydeniz and Berîtan Güneş Altın also participated in the march.

 

Women met at the entrance of İstasyon neighbourhood and marched towards Mêrdîn Metropolitan Municipality. The women marched with the slogans "Jin, jiyan, azadî (Woman, life, freedom)", "Women are strong together". Despite all the efforts of the police, the women made their statement in front of the municipality surrounded by barricades.

 

'CO-MAYOR SYSTEM IS THE TARGET OF TRUSTEE POLITICS'

 

Making the statement on behalf of EŞİK, Gülnur Aksop stated that egalitarian municipalism and women's gains are once again targeted by the government. Stating that even the democracy of the ballot box has been shelved in Turkey, Gülnur Aksop said that the usurpation order since 2016 has extended from local resources to taxes, from mountains to streams, from neighbourhoods to fields.

 

"They are mostly after confiscating women's labour, bodies and lives. Of course, the co-mayor system is also in the target of trustee politics. Co-mayor system, one of the most important achievements of equality in representation and appointment, is targeted with the policy of isolating women from public life" said Gülnur Aksop continued her speech as follows: "We are calling out once again from here. You will not be able to appoint trustees to our lives, rights and dreams."

 

Speaking afterwards, Devrim Demir, Co-Mayor of Mêrdîn Metropolitan Municipality, said that the support of women gave strength to their resistance. Noting that they know the past practices of the trustees and that their current practices are not different from the past, Devrim Demir reminded that the trustee administration cancelled the JİNKart application and stopped women's work as soon as they arrived.

 

'EGALITARIAN SYSTEM IS THE WAY OUT'

 

Speaking lastly, DEM Party MP Saliha Aydeniz stated that they gained strength from the solidarity of women and continued as follows: "The trustee is a coup against women's gains. Just as ISIS attacked the women's revolution in Rojava in 2014, we know very well that the aim of what is being done today is the women's revolution. The trustees appointed here and the political operations carried out are no different from the attacks against Rojava. It is the same policy, the same enmity. It is the same mentality that ordered the attack on Rojava and the trustees." Stating that war policies cause multiple crises in the country, Saliha Aydeniz said that the way out of these multiple crises is to build a democratic and egalitarian system.

 

The statement ended with slogans.