Turkish Women Unite: Diyarbakır Rally Demands Justice for Mahsa Amini
Women in Turkey March in Memory of Jina Mahsa Amini
Vecdi Erbay / New Paper Wall
Women’s organizations in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır province marched on September 16 in memory of Jina Mahsa Amini, the Iranian woman who was arrested and tortured to death for allegedly violating mandatory headscarf regulations in 2022.
Women gathered in front of Diyarbakır Court and tried to march to Sheikh Said Square but were stopped by the police. A brief scuffle broke out between the women and the police officers. After discussions, the women were allowed to march to the square, chanting “Jin Jiyan Azadi” (“Women, Life, Freedom”).
In Sheikh Said Square, police surrounded the women as they read a statement. Filiz Kaydu of the Rosa Women’s Association presented the statement.
Kaydu said, “During Amini’s funeral in her hometown, the people, led by Kurdish women, raised their voices in protest against Iran’s oppressive regime with the slogan ‘Jin Jiyan Azadi.’ Jina became a symbol in protests that spread from Iran to the rest of the world, and this slogan took on a universal meaning. Women removed their compulsory headscarves and chanted revolutionary songs in Kurdish and Farsi.”
Kaydu also addressed the case of Narin Güran, the eight-year-old boy who died 19 days after going missing in the countryside of Diyarbakır.
She said women had followed her case closely and criticized the lack of an effective investigation into her murder. “State intelligence, which prides itself on covering the country with surveillance cameras, could not find Narin for days,” he said. “Documents from the case were leaked to the media as if to get rid of the suspects, and all legal norms were broken to ensure they escaped justice. The bullets found in the village, the family connections, and the strategic importance of the village have only increased suspicion. As Kurds who know all too well what it means to have loved ones disappear, we are determined not to let the same dark forces resurface.”
Kaydu continued, “We are pursuing the murderers of Narin, as well as those who protect them. We are chasing the killers of two-year-old Sıla, who was raped and murdered. We are following the judiciary that released the suspects in the case of the child who was raped in the eastern province of Iğdır.
“We are pursuing justice for Hilal Kar, who was killed on June 23, and for Sudenaz, who was murdered in Amed (Diyarbakır) yesterday. We are pursuing those responsible for Jina Amini’s murder and those who executed protesters following her death. We are on the streets to demand justice for every woman who was murdered.”
Kaydu ended her speech by saying, “We are on the streets to say no to those who, under the guise of religion, use the bodies and lives of women to maintain their power, and to those who kill women with militarism and war policies. We say no to their dirty alliances. We are here to state that women’s resistance continues to grow in the face of reactionary regimes. Our women’s revolution is spreading from Iran to Amed.
“Women will win, and freedom will prevail,” chanted the protesters.
Mardin deputies of the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) Saliha Aydeniz and Beritan Güneş Altın, along with party members and citizens, also participated. After gathering in front of DEM Party’s Mardin Provincial Building, the group marched to Democracy and Martyrs’ Park on 15 July, where a press release was read. Deputy Saliha Aydeniz also addressed the crowd, and the statement included a tribute to Narin Güran, emphasizing that the fight for justice for Narin and all women would continue.