MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Colemêrg - In Hakkari, where women's labor is visible, women take part in every sphere of life. Women of Hakkâri always work to make a livelihood in animal husbandry on mountains or in grain milling facilities in the city. 80-year-old Safiya Ereğli, living in the Suüstü (Şakitan) village of Hakkari’s Yüksekova (Gever) district, works alone in the grain milling facility she opened 20 years ago. She grains wheat, chickpeas, and corn to earn her livelihood.

“I have worked in this facility for 20 years”

After the death of her husband, Safiya Ereğli opened a grain milling facility to look after her children. “There wasn’t any job. After the death of my husband, I began to do this business with my children. I have worked here for years. Generally, people prefer to bring their products to me because I do my job very well. They bring wheat and chickpeas; I first wet them and then put them in the mill. After graining them, people come and take the flour. Before we had an old mill but now we use a milling machine. We grain the products faster with the milling machine,” she said.

“I feel bad when I don’t work”

Safiya Ereğli never gets tired despite her age. “We opened the facility 20 years ago. I do this job but never get tired because I get used to it. Keeping working at this age is great. I feel bad when I don’t work. I grain the products and people come to take them. We are very busy in autumn.”

“I love my job”

Safiya makes enough money to look after her children and earns her livelihood by the mill. “When people see me, they say “You poor thing”. They also tell me, ‘You do this job better than your sons’. We should do our best. I look after myself and my children with the money I earn from here. I love my job.”