March 09, 2006

Women from People’s Houses Organization were on the streets demanding Freedom in Istanbul

50 Women from the People’s Houses Organization marched while carrying Day Care Center and Health Center models and chanting for freedom and equality. Women from Soğanlı participated demanding security for elementary school kids who are in danger in a rundown elementary school.

Women from People’s Houses sang songs all the way and called all women of the World to join the March 8 celebrations. They chanted slogans, “Women will not be silenced any more”, “Stop Poverty, No War”, “Equal work equal pay”, “Free education, free health”, Long live Women’s solidarity”, “Long live March 8th”, and “We won’t be somebody else’s honor” referring to the honor killings of women that has swept the country. In their report to the press, they mentioned all oppressed women and the women who died in the recent factory fire in the silk processing town of Bursa. In the report read by İlknur Birol on behalf of the People Houses Organization, they said, “We the women, hard-working laborers of society; we are celebrating March 8th with all the women of the world to take control of our lives from the claws of poverty and exploitation. We join to take back out lives from the quiet corners of workshops, from our houses that have turned into jails, and from the street corners that we were pushed into. We are struggling against the system that pushes us to more poverty everyday, that feminized poverty; We are struggling for a system where honor killings or women’s suicides do not exist, where we can send our kids to free schools and pre-schools, where we are not subject to any aggression from fathers, husbands or the state, where we are not the cheapest workers in the factories, free workers in the fields, forced workers at homes!”

In the Streets of Ankara on March 8th

In Ankara, March 8th activities were held in 3 separate demonstrations.
First demonstration started in Yüksel Avenue. 200 people participated in the meeting

Second demonstration consisted of 250 people who marched to the US embassy and left a black wreath. Here, Speaker Serpil Şahin from Confederation of Progressive Worker Unions, DISK, emphasized that they will struggle against the discrimination of women and US imperialism’s bloody attacks and its plans primarily in Iraq and all over the Middle East.

Third demonstration also took place with the participation of several organizations.

Source: Sendika.org

G.Y.