Solidarity between women from countries in conflict marks WMW’s European regional action

From Gezi Square, women walked up to the port where they took the boat to the Maiden Island, a meeting point between Asian and European continents. In that place, they denounced patriarchal practices and fallacies which imprison women and exclude them from public life under the excuse of protecting them: there is a popular story in Maiden Island of a king who built a tower to keep his daughter far from danger. However, the princess met death after being bitten by a snake hidden in a food basket.
More than 500 women from 23 countries took part in the forum of debates held on the following day, June 30th. Early in the morning, women’s musical groups opened the long day, followed by a presentation of history of the Turkish and Kurdish women’s movements and the situation of women in Europe, especially from Greece and Poland. Afterwards, participants were divided among two sessions for 13 workshops and panels which discussed WMW’s four action areas and different issues, such as women’s resistance during worker strikes in Turkey or peoples’ right to decide about their future. In the end of the afternoon, plenary participants expressed their solidarity with Kurdish, Cypriot, Palestinian and Iraqi women. The Iraqi delegation received a standing ovation after sharing their struggles. Debates followed with the approval of a declaration and a calendar of action for the next months which highlighted the closing moment of our Third International Action in Sud Kivu, in the Congo Democratic Republic. This intense day of debate and exchange was only possible thanks to the work of more than 30 volunteer interpreters, which allowed the communication in 8 different languages.

By the end of the day, women walked from the University Maçka campus to the Taksim Square, where many others were waiting for them. Around 5,000 people, mostly women, went through Istiklal street toward Galatasaray square, a historical place of women’s resistance. Slogans such as “jîn, jìjan, azadî” (women, peace, freedom), applauses, tambourines, animated women who again were occupying the streets of Istanbul after one week in which different right wing nationalists held large demonstrations.
Yildiz Temurturkan, from the Turkish National Coordinating Body (NCB), explained that this demonstration occurred in a very important moment and changed the atmosphere of the city by having women struggling for peace occupy the streets. Diverse women, coming from many places of the country, besides East and Western Europe were present: the French delegation was composed of women coming from different parts of the country, women of different ages and religions; Belgium delegation had a large trade union presence, including grassroots women, workers in cleaning and food sectors that were participating in a international activity for the first time in their lives.
“This action shows our capacity of putting together women from different countries in conflict in a context of increasing militarization and action of conservative and fundamentalists national sectors”, says Michele Spieler, member of the Switzerland NCB and of WMW International Committee. And the idea is to continue. Sonia Mitraillas, from the Greek NCB, says that “the WMW feminist network in the Balkans will continue in action. It is also possible that, soon, Greek and Turkish women carry out common actions demanding the reduction of military expenses and the application of those resources to assure social services”.
During  the European Social Forum, which was held from July 1st to 4th, the European WMW held a workshop to share our experiences in the construction of a feminist movement in the continent and to talk about our Third International Action. Another activity was promoted specifically by WMW in the Balkans to share information about the situation of women in their region. Also UMAR, from the Portuguese NCB, organized a debate on non-sexist education. In those moments, we were able to meet women from Germany and from Austria and involve them in our movement. The WMW was also present in many other workshops and seminars, in which women – strengthened by the participation in the debates and in our action on the 30th – were able to question the panelists from a feminist perspective.