ANTEP - HDP Women’s Council came together with women who sort raisin pulp and crack walnuts in Antep. The delegation listened to the problems of women and stated that they would bring the issue to the parliament.

 

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Women’s Council came together with women who sorted raisin pulp and cracked walnuts in the Şehitkamil district of Antep as part of the ‘’No to Women’s Poverty’’ campaign. HDP Women’s Council Spokesperson Ayşe Acar Başaran, MPs Ayşe Sürücü and Nuran İmir, HDP Women’s Council member Gülcihan Şimşek, HDP Antep Provincial Women’s Council members attended the meeting.

 

‘We get 30 TR per day’

 

At the meeting, one of the women, who said that she sorts the pulp of a kilo of grapes for 60 kurus, said that she started work at 06:00 in the morning and that she could only earn 30-40 TR per day, and continued: ‘’I am from Urfa. If I had money, I wouldn't be in this mess. But I have to. My spouse also works in a factory, but the money hhe receives is not enough for us.’’ On the other hand, another woman who stated that she got married at the age of 18 said: ‘’I try to make a living by cleaning grape pulp. I was subjected to violence by my spouse and later divorced. It is very difficult to ask for anything from the family after getting married and divorced. We start work at 07:00 in the morning. Until the evening, we only get 30 TR per day.’’

 

Some of the problems that women voiced are as follows:

 

‘’*I divorced from my spouse. I sort 50-60 kilos of grapes per day. Our nails and hands are ruined. Who says it's happening from grapes? Everyone thinks our nails are dirty. I work from morning to evening. I get 30-40 TR. There are four children. My money is not enough. I cannot meet my children's needs. If there is a slipper knitting job in the evening, I do it. However, I am having a hard time to make a living.

 

* I have eight children. I couldn't study my children due to poverty. Have we seen life? I would like my children to study too. The children had to work as when they had a job. They do not give us our rights. This is our life and our children's life. Here you see our situation. If we do not resist, we will starved.

 

* I will not send children to school. Because there is no money. I will go to the factory, there is no one to look after the children. I give my money to bread. I have to work. I cannot pay my rent. They see it in elections. I only get coal money from the state. My electricity comes to 130 TR. The water does not come below 100 TR. They do not provide child support. I am not alone, all women are like that.

 

* I am 55-year-old. My life has been spent working. I have gone to tens of cities. They take the world’s money monthly. May God not be pleased with them. The poor die, the rich look. I have traveled from city to city since I was nine-year-old. Eventually I collapsed, and now I am stuck in front of the bags of grapes. From Siverek to Izmir Söke, all the way to the Black Sea. There is no place where I do not set up a tent, there is no fountain where I do not drink water.’’

 

‘There is poverty everywhere’

 

Speaking on behalf of the delegation that listened to the problems of women, Ayşe Acar Başaran said that the state used violence against women at the hands of men. Stating that women have been the poorest segment of history since the earliest times, Ayşe said: ‘’The economic crisis has deepened at the moment. We are trying to make women’s voices heard. We went to different provinces of Turkey and Kurdistan. Most of the problems faced by women are the same. If you ask the state, all segments of society is in wealthily, but all we see in the streets, in the fields and in the factories is poverty.’’ 

 

The delegation will later meet with women, non-governmental organizations and political parties in Şahinbey and Şehitkamil district building.