NEWS CENTER - TJA issued a written statement before the hearing of TJA Term Spokesperson Ayşe Gökkan on June 23, “As Ayşe said, we are Kurds, we are women, and we are here. We will live freely in our mother tongue, and we will never give up on our demand for justice and our struggle for equality. Let's shout together our demand for freedom and that women's struggle cannot be put on trial for Ayşe, whose right to defend herself in Kurdish is denied.’’

 

Free Women’s Movement (TJA) has released a written statement before the hearing of Term Spokesperson Ayşe Gökkan, who was detained on February 27 with a warrant of arrest and put in prison the next day, at Diyarbakır 9th High-Criminal Court on June 23. In the statement, which stated that Ayşe is a politician and women's rights activist who served as the spokesperson for the TJA, attention was also drawn to her political party background.

 

Ayşe has been fighting for women for 35 years

 

In the statement, attention was drawn to the documentary and book works of Ayşe, who worked in many political parties throughout her life and also worked as a columnist as a journalist. It was emphasized that Ayşe, who also took part in the works of the Democratic Free Women's Movement (DÖKH), Free Women's Congress (KJA) and TJA, has been fighting women's struggle for 35 years. In the statement, it was noted that she was prosecuted eight times for "being a member of a terrorist organization", nearly 200 investigations were launched against her, and she was detained dozens of times.

In the statement, which states that the indictments prepared against Ayşe are unlawful, as well as being racist and sexist, the statement said: "At the hearing of the case where she was charged with membership in a terrorist organization, Ayşe Gökkan was asked why she took part in the women's struggle. She said, ‘teacher hit my nails with a stick because I spoke Kurdish when I went to primary school. I have never forgotten the pain. I will never forget it. Since the first day I started school, I have been tortured because I am Kurdish and a woman, and I am fighting against it. I am a Kurd. I am a woman, and I am here’ and then the court decided to arrest Gökkan after her defense."

 

‘Ayşe refused to defend in Turkish’

 

The statement continued: “Finally, on March 31, 2021, the 20th hearing of the case in which Ayşe  was held in pre-trial detention on charges of 'being a leader of a terrorist organization' and 'being a member of a terrorist organization' was held, and upon the rejection of her request to make a defense in Kurdish, Ayşe stated that she would not make a defense in Turkish and refused to do so. We respectfully greet Ayşe's political attitude.

Continuing her struggle in prison, Ayşe has applied to the Council of State for the annulment of the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention. Istanbul Convention is a women's rights and freedom convention. We know Ayşe and we know that she will not give up by continuing her struggle with legal and all civil methods, inside and outside, wherever she is. Ayşe Gökkan led the women's freedom struggle with determination and faith for years and made all women feel this fighting spirit. As the pressures increased, her perseverance and determination increased, and she reflected the understanding of equality and freedom in all areas of life. On the road, on the street, at home, while doing politics or writing, she realizes the free equal life paradigm with her discourse and lifestyle moment by moment.

 

Let's shout our demand for freedom

 

The pressures on the Kurdish Women's Movement, the dawn operations, the detentions and arrests show the righteousness and strength of our struggle for freedom. Women, who were attacked by all the mechanisms of the state, exposed to intersectional discrimination and usurpation of rights, organized their anger more strongly and increased our women's struggle. As Ayşe said, we are Kurds, women and we are here. We will live freely in our mother tongue, and we will never give up on our demand for justice and our struggle for equality. We will be the voice of Ayşe, Leyla and all TJA women who are held in prison unfair and unlawfully, and we will expand our solidarity with all our woman comrades in the world. The hearing of Ayşe, whose right to defense in Kurdish was denied, was postponed to June 23, 2021. We have a call to the women of the world: Let's shout together our demand for freedom to Ayşe on June 23, 2021, and that the women's struggle cannot be put on trial.’’