Women in Turkey first took to the streets in 1921 and they have celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 to shout their demands for 100 years. Despite all pressures, the women flock to the streets every year. As the wind of March 8 blows from west to east, Kurdish women have celebrated International Women’s Day by wearing their colorful clothes, ululating, and shouting their demands.

ZEYNEP AKGÜL

Ankara- International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8 by women living all across Turkey. How and when did women living in Turkey start celebrating March 8 first? International Women’s Day was first secretly celebrated in 1921under the leadership of Rahime Selimova, Cemile Nuşirvanova sisters and Naciye Hanım members of the Communist Party of Turkey. In Turkey, March 8 was first celebrated as a public celebration in 1975 by members of the Progressive Women's Association (İKD). Before the military coup took place in Turkey in 1980, members of the İKD celebrated the day by organizing activities every day. In the İKD congress held in 1976, the women decided to take action for March 8 to be declared as a public holiday by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. İKD tried to celebrate the day in mass and held its activities in big meeting halls. Women couldn’t celebrate the International Women’s Day for four years due to the military coup that took place in Turkey in 1980 and the public gatherings were banned due to the declaration of the curfew. Women of the İKD decided to hold “White Scarf” actions.

Women wearing “White Scarf”

On March 8, 1980, women wore white scarves and took to the streets. The white scarf was used as a symbol to protest financial difficulties, the increasing prices, unemployment, and chaos in the country.  In every city of Turkey, tens of thousands of women wore white scarves while going to the workplace, shopping, or going for a walk. People stopped working in many factories. Thereupon, “the martial law commanders" prohibited wearing white scarves in some cities. Women began to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, 1984. In the same year, “Kadın Çevresi” “Women's Circle” was founded by women identified themselves as feminist. Since then, International Women’s Day has been celebrated massively on March 8 by women's organizations. Women have raised their voices in the protests while they have struggled against violence, femicide, harassment, and rape.

Feminist Night March began 18 years ago

One of the protests marks International Women’s Day in Turkey is Feminist Night March. The first Feminist Night March took place in Turkey in 2003. But women decided to organize the march every year in 2005. Protests took place in Taksim Square in 2003 and 2004 inspired women to organize the march every year on March 8. Every year, more women joined the march and by 2020, it became a magnificent march gathering tens of thousands of women together.

Revolutionary women arrested

It is necessary to look at the history of Kurdish women to know how they celebrate International Women’s Day. Their determination to struggle has inspired many women. Kurdish women started this struggle in 1919 and today they have celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 by organizing protests, demonstrations, and activities participated by thousands of women. Kurdish women are at the forefront of the struggle of women and identity. The Association for the Rise of Kurdish Women (Kürt Kadınları Teâli Cemiyeti) founded in 1919 was the first organized struggle of the Kurdish women. Then the name of the association was changed into Union of Revolutionary Democratic Women (Devrimci Demokratik Kadınlar Birliği/DDKAD). DDKAD was the first Kurdish women’s organization to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. The members of the union were detained in Diyarbakır and jailed during the military coup of 1980.

First demonstration of Kurdish women

International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8 every year by women all across the world while women living in the region (Kurdish cities in Turkey) have celebrated it under intense pressure. International Women’s Day was celebrated by Kurdish women for the first time in 1997. And the first demonstration for International Women’s Day was organized in 1998. The women gathering to celebrate by wearing their traditional clothes faced police violence. In 2001, women drew attention to the isolation in prisons. Kurdish women celebrated the day between 2002 and 2005 by shouting their different demands. The women flocked to the streets on March 8, 2006 with the motto, “For peace, a world without violence”.

Women governed the city for three days

Kurdish women, who flocked to the streets on March 8 with the increasing participation of women shouted Kurdish Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s demand for freedom between 2007 and 2009. They also held a demonstration at Istasyon Square on March 9, 2009, under the leadership of the Democratic Society Party (DTP). In 2010, Diyarbakır city was declared as a “Women’s City” on March 8 by the Democratic Free Women's Movement (DÖKH) and women governed the city for three days.

Women met on both sides of the border

In 2012, the demand of Kurdish women who took to the streets on March 8 was "Freedom for Öcalan, end political genocide.” In 2013, women came together at the square with the motto, “Your path is our path, and your word is our word”. In 2014, Kurdish women commemorated Sakine Cansız, Leyla Şaylemez and Fidan Doğan who were killed in Paris. In 2015, women celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8 with the motto, “Let's organize with women resisting in Kobanê, and let’s liberate life” under the leadership of the Free Women's Congress (KJA). Demonstrations were held in Nusaybin and Qamishlo, two cities on the Syria and Turkey border, within the scope of the Women's March, a worldwide protest.

Women flocked to the streets singing ‘Na, Na’

In 2016, women took to the streets with the motto, “Women resist for their leader and freedom”. In 2017, they flocked to the streets singing “Na, Na (No, No)”. In 2018, the celebration was organized by the Dicle Amed Women's Platform. In 2019, women greeted the hunger strike launched by Democratic Society Congress (DTK) Co-chair Leyla Güven against isolation (imposed on Abdullah Öcalan). Women in the region flocked to the streets by shouting, “Leyla Güven is our honor.” In 2020, women celebrated International Women’s Day with the motto, “We organize the resistance, and we walk to freedom” led by Free Women’s Movement (TJA) and Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Women’s Council.

This year, women will take to the streets led by Free Women’s Movement (TJA) with the motto, “We Defend Life Against Femicide, Freedom Against Isolation” in all cities of the country.