KDK challenges: ‘The capitalist class is directly responsible’

12punto.com.tr

Cenk BAŞBOĞAOĞLU

Semiha Deniz, who was waiting in front of the Vedide Baha Pars Secondary School in Istanbul's Kocamustafapaşa neighborhood to pick up her child from school, was murdered by Emrah Deniz, from whom she had obtained a restraining order and with whom she was in the process of divorce. The Women's Solidarity Committees (KDK) held a protest last night in front of the school where Semiha Deniz was murdered.

‘WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE’

In a statement made in front of the Vedide Baha Pars Secondary School, the KDK stated that femicides cannot be considered independently of the decaying order, and expressed its stance against the mechanisms that exonerate perpetrators and against reactionaryism: "We are struggling to survive in a darkness that surrounds us, facing endless exploitation, poverty, inequality, and violence. Our hearts are aching, and we must raise our voices louder than ever before. We have no other choice. Violence against women continues to increase every day because exploitation is deepening and poverty is rising. We cannot let those who portray the culprit as just a few individuals, or even those who often exonerate them, or those who try to prevent women who are fighting for their lives from seeing the real perpetrators by reducing violence to mere physical violence, get away with it. While women's right to life is being taken away and children are being torn from life, we are crying out against those who still advertise the 'aid' they provide; against the reactionary order that leads to child marriage, abuse, and the exclusion of women from social life, and against the sects that have taken over social life; against the political power that dares to decide how many children we will have, how we will give birth, what we will wear, and what time we will be out; against the legal order that normalizes sentence reductions for perpetrators with excuses like 'what was she doing there, the child consented, she encouraged her spouse to commit the crime'; against the bosses and holdings that do not pay equal wages for equal work, that start women off 1-0 down in business life, and that see it as a tool for further exploitation especially if the woman has a child, that usurp our rights, subject us to mobbing, and grow by sucking our blood, we are not swallowing our anger, we are shouting."

We are calling out to those who see women as weak and powerless, thinking 'we can do whatever we want, they won't speak up anyway'; we will hold you all accountable. Let us destroy this dark, murderous order that steals our lives so that not one more woman dies. If you say, 'I want to look ahead, not behind me, I want to live in a safe country, on safe streets'; if you want the violence, exploitation, and femicides to be accounted for; if you want the order of sects and tribes and the bloodsucking of bosses to end, and for us to live in a secular, equal, and free country; if you say, 'I will decide for myself what I wear, what time I will be out, and how I will give birth,' there is only one way out. We must fight together and hold this order accountable. We are not alone, helpless, or weak!" they declared.

‘SOLIDARITY MUST BE GROWN’

KDK Representative Nurhak Şenol spoke to 12punto about the issue. Regarding what women can do in the face of increasing murders and 'misogyny,' Şenol said, "Portraying femicides as events committed by individual criminals creates a great illusion. The violence, poverty, and insecurity that women face today are the results produced by this order. This order, which uses women as cheap labor, tries to confine them to the home, and imposes reactionaryism on society, also devalues women's lives.

As the Women's Solidarity Committees, what we say is very clear: women's security is not just individual measures, but organized struggle. Women must come together in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and schools, grow solidarity, and fight together against this order that devalues their lives.

But at the same time, we are also clearly telling those responsible for these murders, 'you are guilty.' Protecting women's right to life is the duty of the state and the authorities. When this duty is not fulfilled, and when policies that do not protect women and prevent violence are continued, there is political responsibility for this. We are not just mourning; we are clearly telling the authorities who do not protect women, 'you are guilty, be held accountable.'

A country where women can truly live freely and safely will be possible when an order is established where women's labor is not exploited and reactionaryism does not determine our lives," she said.

‘A CLEAR INDICATOR OF SOCIAL DECAY’

Drawing attention to the brutality of the methods used in recent femicides in addition to their increase, Şenol said, "The fact that femicides are taking on increasingly brutal forms is a clear indicator of social decay. At the same time, when an environment is created where social values are eroded, violence is normalized, and women's lives are devalued, the nature of these crimes also becomes more severe.

Today, while a 'sacred family' is imposed on women on one hand, women's labor is exploited under the most insecure conditions on the other. Those who create this picture, from bosses to sects, from the political power to all the forces that maintain this order, stand in the same place. As long as this order that devalues human life continues, it is not possible to stop femicides only with criminal measures.

If we really want to protect our lives, we must target the source of this darkness, that is, the order that both exploits and oppresses women," she said.

‘THE CAPITALIST CLASS IS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE’

The KDK emphasized its stance against this situation towards March 8: "The Women's Solidarity Committees look at this March 8 from a very clear perspective: to point out those responsible for the darkness we are experiencing. The source of the poverty, insecurity, reactionaryism, and violence that make women's lives difficult is this order. For this reason, we see March 8 not only as a symbolic day, but as a call to reckon with this order.

That is why we call on women not only to demand 'better laws' or 'small improvements,' but to question and fight to change this order that determines their lives. A country where we can truly breathe will only be possible when a social order is established where equality, secularism, and labor are valued.

The Women's Solidarity Committees will hold their protest in front of TÜSİAD as they head towards March 8 this year. The reason for this is very clear: the poverty, insecurity, and inequality experienced by women are not just cultural or individual problems; they are the results produced by the capitalist order.

Today, women are employed in the most insecure jobs, receive the lowest wages, and are the first to be laid off during times of crisis. This picture is not a coincidence; it is a result of the economic order that increases the profits of capital.

That is why on March 8, the Women's Solidarity Committees will point not only to femicides or violence, but also to this order of exploitation that determines women's lives. Being in front of TÜSİAD is meaningful for exactly this reason: because the capitalist class is directly responsible for the exploitation of women's labor, their insecure employment, and the deepening of poverty," they emphasized.