|
Solidarity
Campaign
for the Women's Initiative KATAGI from Turkey
„Let
us come together to get rid of the shackles that have bound our bodies and
souls for thousands of years. Let us spread solidarity, so that we can live
more happily.“ This was the motto of a series of events the IFWF organized
in January 2003 in order to make the activities of the women's initiative
KATAGI (Initiative for the Advancement of a Women’s Point of View) from
Turkey known in Europe.
KATAGI
was founded in 2001 as an independent women's initiative for improving the
social, political and cultural situation of women in Turkey. Women from
different national, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, of different creeds, age
groups and social environments from different regions of Turkey are involved
in KATAGI's activities. They are united in their aim to break the spirit of
patriarchal dominance and thus catalyse the democratisation of state and
society. With their campaign "I am not free!" they
incited women to reflect on their own lives and their idea of freedom vis a
vis a society increasingly conditioned by TV commercials. In summer 2002,
women walking the villages and towns of different regions of Turkey as
messengers carried together the opinions, thoughts and biographies of
thousands of women to present them at a meeting in Konya and draft a manifesto
on the basis of these letters entrusted to them. At present, KATAGI has
focused on campaigning against militarism, e.g. by organizing all-female
rallies of peace activists at the border between Turkey and Iraq and in
Cyprus.
The
initiative has made valuable contributions to intercommunity relations and
strengthened the role of women in the process of democratisation in Turkey.
The IFWF sought to support this engagement and inform the European public
about the cultural, social and political developments in the EU-membership
candidate Turkey from the point of view of women when it organized a series of
events in cooperation with local women's initiatives in Zaandam, Rotterdam
(NL), Frankfurt, Berlin (FRG), Zurich and St Gallen (CH) in which KATAGI
activists Berivan Kum and Yesim Basaran participated. The cultural events and
discussions were well covered by the media and visited by more than 1200 women
altogether.
|
