The struggle, which has been started by women garment workers in the 1857 in New York, continues in many of places in the world as a struggle of identity and social statutes against any kinds of violation, trafficking of women, forced migration and rapes. The resistance, by women garment workers for a better life, is 151 years old… Male dominant system, for hundreds years, nourishes inequalities between genders consequently; violence almost becomes an inevitable “fate” for women. Poverty, unemployment, natural disasters, forced migration, ethnic conflicts, wars, trafficking of women, domestic violence and male dominant system’s policies that are integrated any kinds violation affect women deeply. Also capitalist globalization, by reproducing itself and making more powerful in every day, goes on to cause outcomes against women. Those, who lost their lives due to regional and civil war since WWII are more than who lost their lives due to the world wars. Actually this data reveal losses of mankind by militarist male dominant system which based on violence, denial and ignorance. Women are fundamental victims of war, so; the more they do about their basic rights will mean struggle also for crime against humanity.
Violence against women is a crime against humanity!
Male dominant militarist policies in Turkey target women at most. Women’s, who subjected to war, poverty, discrimination and any kinds of violations, sufferings go on without stopping. As it can be seen in the following table, which is prepared by Human Rights Association (İHD) within the framework of Report on Human Rights Violation, there are serious violations in the category of women’s rights in 2007. Women were killed under the name of “honour” killing, compelled to forced prostitution, suffered from losing their children in the armed conflict. Insisting on traditional state policies, violence, denying and refusing rather than solution of Kurdish question by means of democratic ways caused losses of our young people in the armed conflict. Some of the mothers, in the last month, were shocked as they saw corpses which were being kept in the morgue of a Hospital in Bingöl (city in Southeast region of Turkey) and almost unidentifiable even some of them were their children. Some of the mothers suffered from losing their children, whom they sent as alive to the military service, in the “ground operation” which launched into Iraqi Federate Kurdish Region.
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HONOUR KILLINGS
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Women
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36 deaths
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3 wounded
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Children
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6 deaths
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2 wounded
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VIOLATINS AGAINST WOMEN’S RIGHT TO LIFE
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Suicide
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65 suicides
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19 suicide attempts
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Women subjected to domestic violence
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66 deaths
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61 wounded / 5 rapes
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Violence, Rape, Harassment Against Women in Social Area
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53 deaths
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55 wounded/ 48 harassments and rapes
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Women forced to prostitution
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314 women
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Chapter related with women’s right in the balance sheet of 2007 is also an indication for women, who are subjected to every kind of violation, in terms of how much they are far away from state protection. Due to the lack of and ineffectiveness of administrative mechanisms; women, who are subjected to domestic and social violence, continue to experience new sufferings and to stay away from real protection. Lastly impunity for perpetrators (as in the case of H.A, who was subjected to rape under custody and that was held in the Heavy Penal Court in Mardin) creates a negative atmosphere in women’s struggle. Similarly not making fair decisions in most of cases about domestic violence; clinches women’s non-confidence to judiciary mechanisms as well. States, no matter where, should take precautions against exercised or overlooked violence by states. States cannot overlook any kinds of violation both in private and public area, otherwise; gender based violence goes on permanently. Therefore violence against women should not be justified, for any reasons, with tradition, custom, religion, culture and political power but considered as violation of basic rights and freedoms. Moreover, precautions should be taken for such violations.
We, human rights defenders, consider women’s struggle for basic rights and freedoms for 151 years as struggle for humanization. When we evaluate data of violations against women, we call for once again improving this struggle.
LONG LIVE 8 MARCH! BIJİ 8 ADARE!
STOP GENDER, CLASS and NATIONAL BASED VIOLENCE!
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMAN is a CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY!
WOMAN’S RIGHT is a BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS!
HUMAN RIGHTS ASSOCIATION