ARJIN DELIK ÜNCEL

AMED_ The “Peace and Democratic Society” process, which was launched with the aim of ending the war and the state of conflict that as persisted for more than fifty years, and working to build a democratic republic, has reached an advanced stage. However, consolidating peace in society and transforming it into an established societal culture remains the most important factor in ensuring the success and sustainability of this process.

So that peace does not remain confined to the framework of negotiations or political understandings between the parties. But rather transforms into a permanent and tangible realiy, it must first begin from the societies themselves, by strengthening mutual understanding and establishing a culture of coexistence. In this context, democratic institutions, political parties, and women's movements have continued their efforts since February 27, 2025, based on a vision that makes society an essential and active partner in this process, and grants it a pivotal role in building and consolidating peace.

it must first begin from the societies themselves, by strengthening mutual understanding and establishing a culture of coexistence. In this context, democratic institutions, political parties, and women's movements have continued their efforts since February 27, 2025, based on a vision that makes society an essential and active partner in this process, and grants it a pivotal role in building and consolidating peace.

"We built bridges between peoples"

Within the framework of efforts aimed at establishing peace, the experience of Özden Ünal stands out. She hails from the province of Ordu in the Black Sea region and has lived in Mardin for 24 years. She affirmed her support for the "Peace and Democratic Society Process," drawing on years of civic work aimed at consolidating brotherhood between the Kurdish and Turkish peoples.

Özden Ünal holds the title of "International Peace Ambassador" at the International Youth Development Forum — an institution for building and promoting peace — and also heads the Women and Family Unit at the Community Solidarity Union in Mardin.

Speaking about women's role in achieving peace, she stressed that women constitute a fundamental pillar in building and sustaining peace: "Women are essential partners in peacemaking. Woman is the one who gives life and maintains its continuity, and from here the issue of women is closely linked to the issue of peace."

On ways to consolidate peace societally, Özden Ünal called for transcending preconceptions and for all parties to participate in building a life based on coexistence, far from exclusion and marginalization. She affirmed that achieving societal consensus requires joint efforts involving local administrations, public institutions, and civil society organizations.

She added: "If we are talking about societal consensus, we must all work to make peace an established culture in society. Steps should not be limited to individual initiatives; they must be collective efforts encompassing all sectors. We must break down preconceptions — everything starts from here. We know that changing these mentalities is harder than splitting the atom, but we will continue working, whatever the difficulties, to make this process succeed."

"We must push the process forward"

Özden Ünal called on all parties to support the process, so as not to repeat the tragedies and losses in the Kurdish and Turkish societies and to ensure that no more victims fall. "We want the bloodshed to stop, mothers not to cry, and no new tragedies to occur. We want the money that could have been wasted on war to be spent on creating job opportunities, supporting youth, and creating employment fields. If the money spent on war throughout all these years had been allocated to the fields we mentioned, Turkey today would be a great power. With the peace process, we have at least hope that our pains will not be repeated. But we must now push this process forward and move it to a more advanced stage."

She pointed out that there are forces that wish for the war and the state of conflict to continue, while affirming their adherence to peace and their determination for it. "Turkey enjoys a highly important geopolitical position; it is a country that connects Asia and Europe. Any step toward peace taken here, and any measures that contribute to achieving it, will reflect positively on other countries as well. Likewise, ending conflicts in the Middle East and other African countries will reflect positively on Turkey. We can all build the roads leading to peace, through the shared political memory between nations and solidarity between cultures."

"Women's struggle for freedom continues"

Özden Ünal stressed the need to strengthen women's participation in political, social, and economic life, affirming that achieving lasting peace cannot be separated from women's role and their active presence in decision-making.

She said that increasing women's representation in politics and granting them a wider space to participate in managing public affairs would bring about important changes, pointing to the need to adopt a system of alternating representation between women and men (the "cloud" system) in all parties, and to ensure equal representation.

She added: "There is no peace without women. Women must be in advanced positions and in various fields of life — cultural, economic, commercial, and social. Women's struggle for freedom continues, and we must defend every space in which women strengthen their presence and power. We believe that women's solidarity will contribute to consolidating peace more quickly, for the stronger women become, the stronger society as a whole becomes."