19/11/2024 | Writer: Kaos GL
Aylime Aslı Demir talked about Kaos GL at the 30th anniversary event of WWHR: “Kaos GL's 30 years is a story of resilience and the capacity to respond to ever-changing pressures.”
Women for Women's Human Rights brought together organizations celebrating their 30th anniversary at “Feminist Meetings”. Held on November 17th at the Post Office in Galata, Istanbul, Feminist Gatherings were organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Women for Women's Human Rights Association (WWHR) and to evaluate the achievements of the women's and LGBTI+ movement together.
The event was organized with the theme “Looking at the Recent Past of Our Struggle Together with Organizations Celebrating Their 30th Anniversary”. In addition to WWHR, representatives from KADER Ankara, Women's Solidarity Foundation, KAOS GL, Lambdaistanbul, Mor Çatı and Turkish Women's Union took part in the event, which was moderated by Ezel Buse Sönmezocak from WWHR.
KADER Ankara: Joint struggle, strong memory
İlknur Üstün stated that the greatest achievement of the women's movement is an organized solidarity that manifests itself in all areas of life, stubbornly, without ever stepping back, and said, “The greatest achievement of the women's movement is the women's organizations that now exist everywhere in life. The way these organizations make politics is very important in terms of showing that another politics is possible”.
Speaking about the impact of the legal changes won by the women's movement, she cited the example of a woman from a village in Erzurum who filed the first application based on this law after they criminalized marital rape in the Turkish Penal Code in 2004:
“This is an indication of how much our struggle touches every aspect of life.”
Üstün said that memory is not only about remembering past achievements, but also guides today's struggle:
“Starting history from ourselves means eliminating memory. The success of the women's movement today is the continuity we have learned from past experiences and reflected in our determined struggle today.”
Women's Solidarity Foundation: Turkey's first women's counseling center and shelter
In her speech, Zekiye Karaca Boz talked about the establishment of the Women's Solidarity Foundation, the difficulties they faced and how they overcame these difficulties.
In 1991, they established Turkey's first women's counseling center and shelter in cooperation with Altındağ Municipality, and she summarized the pressures they faced at that time as follows:
“When the administration changed, they entered from the rooftops at night and cut off our electricity. But women managed to create their own resources and take ownership of their own work, and these experiences strengthened us.”
Referring to the difficulties the foundation faced in accessing sustainable resources, Boz emphasized the importance of volunteer labor in the foundation's story, which is unparalleled in any other movement.
WWHR: From trainings to association
Ebru Batık explained that the story of WWHR started with a training program project for women to learn and exercise their rights, and that this process evolved into an association:
“When the WWHR training program started, they thought that it would last for a few years and then there would be no need for this work. But today we are celebrating our 30th anniversary. This shows how much women's solidarity is a much needed and powerful work.”
Expressing how women from different regions of Turkey came together in the campaign for the right to abortion, Batık said: “From Van to Muş, women were shouting ‘This is our right, we will never give it up’. This unity affected me deeply.”
Kaos GL: Resilience against political repression
Aylime Aslı Demir discussed the resilience of the LGBTI+ movement and changing methods of struggle. She stated that Kaos GL's 30-year history is full of examples of resilience against political oppression and inventing tools of activism in accordance with changing conditions:
“Kaos GL's 30 years is a story of resilience and the capacity to respond to ever-changing pressures. The self-confidence created by this story is a feeling we should all share.”
Stating that the LGBTI+ movement has undergone a radical change in many areas such as digitalization, ability to respond to crises, professionalization and theoretical transformations in the last 30 years, Demir reminded that in the early years, Kaos GL was a magazine published with collective solidarity based on writings received through letters and visuals prepared with collages, while today, thanks to digitalization, instant information sharing, access to safe spaces and international solidarity have become much easier.
Demir stated that digitalization has increased the resilience of the movement in processes such as political repression, pandemic and economic crisis, and that digitalization has enabled the establishment of strong ties between local and global struggles. He stated that thanks to the specialization that emerged with the transition from volunteerism to professionalization, a deepening knowledge production has been realized in many different fields.
Lambdaistanbul: Compassionate comradeship and companionship
Öner Ceylan touched upon the history of Lambdaistanbul and the changes in the organizational process and emphasized that this structure, which was established in 1993, made important contributions to the LGBTI+ movement. In 1993, the first Pride Week was prevented by the governorship and therefore could not be celebrated in public space for a while. However, in the 2000s, perhaps inspired by Kaos GL's appearance on May 1, 2001, Pride weeks started to be organized in public spaces.
Addressing the transformation in organizing practices, he questioned the balance between professionalization and amateur spirit:
“The movement that started with an amateur spirit has today become professionalized. However, we need to discuss whether this sometimes leads to a duality such as service-giver-service-receiver.”
Öner Ceylan, while evaluating the processes of change in the movement, stated that solidarity needs to be redefined:
“It is critical for the future of our movement not to lose compassionate comradeship and companionship.”
Purple Roof Women's Shelter Foundation: Solidarity through feminist methods
Speaking on behalf of Mor Çatı, Selime Büyükgöze started her speech by describing the foundation of Mor Çatı and the historical impact of the feminist movement. Founded in 1990, she stated that Mor Çatı is an organization based on women's solidarity and intergenerational transmission:
“The main strength of Mor Çatı lies in the fact that women from different generations share their experiences and maintain solidarity. This is one of the most important features that makes us different.”
Emphasizing the impact of feminist methods on social transformation, Büyükgöze said:
“Although the discourse on misogyny has decreased today, it is our success that basic feminist gains have become entrenched in society. It is the long years of feminists' struggle that has enabled this transformation.”
Turkish Women's Union: From the past to the future
In her speech, Sema Kendirci discussed the history and achievements of the Turkish Women's Union. She emphasized the 100-year history of the organization, its place in the struggle for women's rights and its ties with the feminist movement:
“The Turkish Women's Union ensured that women were recognized as individuals. It played an important role in changing fundamental laws such as the Civil Code and the Penal Code.”
Kendirci emphasized the importance of history for the feminist movement:
“Knowing history and learning from the past is the basis for building the future. The success of our organized struggle comes from embracing this history.”
Tags: human rights, women
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