ARJÎN DİLEK ÖNCEL

Amed (Diyarbakır)- The trustee policies that have been pursued for years in Türkiye have targeted the will of the Kurdish people, deeply affecting the role of the local administrations in social life. In 2016, the Turkish Ministry of Interior started appointing trustees to Kurdish municipalities won by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). After the local elections in 2019, the elected mayors of the Kurdish municipalities were again removed from office and replaced with state-appointed trustees.

The Peyas (Kayapınar) Municipality in Amed (Diyarbakır) was one of the municipalities whose elected co-mayors were removed from office. In the local elections held in Türkiye on March 31, 2024, the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) won the municipality with 68.85% of votes.

The elected co-mayors of the municipality first activated the deactivated directorates , including the Directorate of Women's Policies. The directorate provides economic, social, legal and psychological support to women and aims to combat gender-based violence by working in coordination with local dynamics.

The Directorate of Women’s Policies was activated following the elections, said Günay Yakut Demir, coordinating member of the directorate. “The directorate aims to combat violence against women, promote women’s economic empowerment and develop education, research and social projects for women.”

‘116 women victims of physical violence applied to the municipality in one year’

Speaking about the Women's Life Centers opened by the municipality, she said, “These centers have become a space for women to organize themselves, be in solidarity with each other and share their experiences. These centers aim to combat gender-based violence. They provide legal, psychological and financial support to women victims of violence. 116 women victims of physical violence applied to the municipality in just one year. When we listened to these women, we saw that they had also been subjected to psychological and economic violence. The centers also provide vocational courses to women; they are a space for women to spend time with each other or participate in sports activities. After completing courses provided by the centers, they want to participate in other courses because they share their experiences and feelings with each other at the centers.”

 

‘For a life without violence…’

The Directorate of Women’s Policies works in coordination with other organizations and institutions in the city for women to build a life without violence. “We can end gender-based violence by activating the city's dynamics,” Günay Yakut told NuJINHA. “In the city, municipalities work in coordination with each other, business people, institutions, organizations, and non-governmental organizations in the city to support women in their journey to build a life without violence. With the support of business people, we offer employment opportunities to women seeking for divorce, who want to build a life without violence with their children.”

Five women killed in Amed in six weeks

Günay Yakut pointed to the increase in gender-based violence, reminding that five women were killed and one woman died under suspicious circumstances in one and half months in Amed. “136 women were killed in Türkiye in the first six months of 2025. 90% of these women were killed by their male relatives. Many women were killed for seeking a divorce. Five women, three of them under the age of 25, were killed in Amed in the last one and a half months.  Three women were killed by their husbands because they had wanted to have a life without violence.”

Campaigns against violence

The municipalities held by the DEM Party have launched many campaigns against gender-based violence since March 2024.

“As the municipalities, we launched a campaign on November 13, 2024. Since the beginning of summer, we have held forums in public parks to raise awareness against femicide and gender-based violence. We go to the parks in groups and have a talk with women. We give information to women about the centers and tell them they can apply to the center if they are subjected to violence. Until now, we have reached about 800 women in the public parks. 10 women have applied to our centers, reporting that they have been subjected to domestic violence.”

‘To struggle and organize together…’

Local administrations aim to make the city a women-friendly city, Günay Yakut emphasized. “As the Directorates of Women’s Policies, we aim to reach all women in the city, be in solidarity with them. We believe in ourselves and the power of self-defense to fight violence together. We call on all women, who need support, to go to the women’s life centers to be in solidarity with each other, to struggle and organize together.”