NEWS CENTER - HDP held women’s conferences in Istanbul and Ankara before holding its 3rd congress on February 11. “We aren’t scared, we will resist,” said the women participated in the conferences.

 

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) held a women’s conference at Tüm Bel Sen (union of municipalities) Headquarters in Ankara before holding its 3rd Ordinary Congress on February 11. HDP Ağrı MP Dilan Dirayet Taşdemir, HDP Party Assembly (PM) member Yeliz Yıldırım, HDP vice Co-chair Yurdusev Özsökmenler, the party’s Central Executive Committee members Atiye Eren and Gülsen Ülker and many women participated in the conference. A banner reading, “We say no to fascism, we are going to freedom by organizing” and photographs of jailed MPs and co-mayors were hung on the walls of the hall.

 

After minute’s silence, Dilan Dirayet spoke and she said that they have been struggling for years against monist, gendered, nationalist and anti-women politics; “There are thousands of women who have contributed to the development of this struggle. We have faced a serious attack on our party, particularly in the last two years. They aim to eliminate us from politics. In the last two years, five thousands of our friends have been detained or jailed. They attacked the municipalities trying to organize women’s gains. Our co-mayors were jailed.”

 

Messages sent from HDP former Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ and Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor Gültan Kışanak jailed in Kocaeli Kandıra No.1 F-type Closed Prison were read during the conference.

 

The conference is going on as closed to the press.

 

Istanbul

 

Marmara Region Women's Conference was held at Taksim Hill Hotel in Istanbul with the motto, “We say no to fascism, we are going to freedom by organizing”. HDP Women’s Assembly Spokesperson Besime Konca made the opening speech of the conference after minute’s silence. “The fascism we face today is a very heavy fascism that we have not seen so often in history. Fascism has imposed its own style of power on people in world history. Fighting against this fascism is very important for women. They can try to eliminate us from politics. We know that women are questioning political economic violence. Saying we aren’t scared, we will resist is the basis of today's struggle,” said Besime.

 

Messages sent from HDP former Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ and Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-mayor Gültan Kışanak jailed in Kocaeli Kandıra No.1 F-type Closed Prison were also read during this conference.

 

The conference is going on as closed to the press.