Derya Ren

 

URFA - Women working in the lentil field in the Suruç plain say that they work with men, but they have a higher workload than men. Stating that they have not been rewarded for their labor, women point out that women are ignored.

 

Women living in Oymaklı (Mektelan) village in Suruç district of Urfa wake up right after the morning prayer and head to the lentil fields. However, after working in the field for three-four hours, women who can return to their homes and have breakfast return to the field after breakfast and work until the evening hours. Workload awaits women not only in the field, but also at home. Women who spend all their days working, on the other hand, cannot receive a recompense for their work.

 

Women working in the fields state that they work with men, but that they are burdened with more work.

 

‘Village life is more beautiful than city life’

 

Zeynep Demirbilekli, one of the women working in the field, says that they work in the field from morning to evening and when they return home, they are busy with housework. Adding that she could not spare time for her children, Zeynep said: “We are working for our children. However, we cannot color the lives of our children. When we go home in the evenings, I take care of my children, cooking and do the laundry. In the morning I get up again and go to the field. Since my husband is also a seasonal worker, he has to work in different jobs. Farming is hard work. You do not want to work when you are not getting rewarded. When the state does not give support, you have more difficulty. For example, we planted lentils this year, but this year it will not produce a good crop. We also want to make product changes, but we have difficulties when the government does not support it. Staying in the village helped us a lot during the pandemic process. My children are eating healthily. Village life is much better than city life, but it also has difficulties.”

 

‘Working in the field gives me strength’

 

Üveyş Demirbilekli also says that women's labor has never been seen, therefore village life is difficult for her, but she does not want to leave the village because it is intertwined with nature. Üveyş emphasizes that village life is more beneficial for people's health and adds: “I dig in the field and collect the grass that grows among the lentils. If we are planting from a garden, I am dealing with it. We are trying to get almost all of our preparations for the winter from the garden we planted. I am 60-year-old, I still work in the fields.”

 

“We both love the field business and we have to work for a living, but it does not pay off. We are forced to sell the crops we collect at the end of the season at very low prices,” Üveyş summarizes their situation.

 

‘Our day is spent with effort’

 

Emine Demirbilekli reminds that they went to Harran to plant cotton due to irrigation problems. Noting that after returning to Suruç from Harran, they planted crops such as wheat and barley that did not require too much water, Emine said: “We have been working very hard and we are still doing it. Our day is spent with effort. The job we do is very difficult because we are not dealing with just one job. When we come back from the field, I go milking cows, making cheese and yogurt. I feed and care for animals. I like to live in the village, I have a hard time when I go to the city. Because the city air is not clean. Village life is a nature of people.”