ISTANBUL - Stating that the leading criticisms were revealed in women's meetings, Green Left Party Women's Council member Sevtap Akdağ said: We accelerated our work for the new period."

 

The Marmara branch of the public meetings started in Istanbul on July 8, as part of the restructuring of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and the Greens and Left Future Party (Green Left Party), was completed. In line with criticism, self-criticism and deficiencies experienced, meetings were held with women as well as meetings where the opinions of the public were taken. In the meetings held, women's criticisms and suggestions were received. HDP and Green Left Party Women's Assemblies will determine the roadmap for the new period with these criticisms and suggestions.

 

Evaluating the meetings held with women, Sevtap Akdağ, a member of the Green Left Party Women's Assembly, stated that they are engaged in politics towards realizing the demands of the society. Expressing that the evaluations and suggestions that have been revealed so far have a deep and political perspective, Akdağ stated that HDP's opinion has received a great deal of response from the society. Akdağ stated that there are criticisms against them at the point of putting the party's idea into practice and that they are criticized for not fully fulfilling the requirements of the Third Way policy. Akdağ underlined that these criticisms are quite pioneering for them.

 

CRITICS OF WOMEN

 

Emphasizing that women organize life, Akdağ said: "We observed that the co-chairmanship system was adopted by women in the women's meetings we held. Women mentioned the shortcomings experienced at this point in the meetings, and that they also received criticism that there were deficiencies in reaching women in the localities. Criticisms were made that there were some 'masculine' approaches within the party. These were constructive criticisms in terms of fighting with the 'masculine' understanding within the party, acting from a woman's point of view in politics, from a place that sees the needs of women and is based on their empowerment. Women are determined and willing to have a say in the decision-making process. They emphasized that these channels should be built as more systematic and problem-solving, that more widespread and equal relations with women should be established within the scope of the women's alliance, and that there is a great need for the politics of the future."

 

COMMON WOMEN'S STRUGGLE

 

Stating that the HDP and the Green Left Party Women's Assembly are carrying out the women's struggle together with all women's organizations, Akdağ said: "We determined the demands that emerged in the women's struggle as our demands, and we tried to convey this to the political channel and to strengthen this struggle from there. In order to be able to withstand the attacks against women, the question of "What kind of struggle should we develop and spread?" was a topic that we started to discuss. The election results revealed their urgency even more because right now we are faced with the most misogynistic parliamentary arithmetic. In the face of this, we are determined to come out with a women's struggle that is resistant, focused on its goals and establishes the ground for meeting with the widest social segments, both on the streets and in the Parliament."

 

WHAT WILL BE DONE IN THE NEW PERIOD?

 

Stating that they take the criticisms of women as a "homework" for themselves, Akdağ said the following about the policy they will follow regarding the new period: "We also said in the meetings we held, 'We have come to listen to you, to learn the politics we have made again from your reflection'. We will organize workshops on the solution of these problems. We will try to transform these assignments given to us in the workshops on how our women's policy and Third Way politics should be shaped in the upcoming period into propositions of politics. In the conference and congress process we will hold later, we will turn all these into the main policy of the coming period. We made this promise to women there. We, as women in politics in the party, are working feverishly to fulfill the requirements of this promise.”

 

A CALL FOR WOMEN TO "FIGHT TOGETHER"

 

Akdağ said: “We are not condemned to this despotism, sexism, chauvinism, war politics and exploitation, which are tried to be portrayed as our destiny. As women who create life, there is a great need for women's rights, unity, solidarity, organization and resistance in terms of the style, aim and construction of this policy in the struggle for life's change and transformation. We called on all women to come together to enlarge the struggle."