23 October 2010
The congress will be celebrated in Diyarbakir on 31 October
The first Congress of BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Women Council, is going to be held on 31 October in Diyarbakır, with the participation of 950 delegates. Determining the congress delegates with women meetings in 45 cities for nearly one and a half month, BDP member women have a high opinion of the congress to carry the women existence in politics to a higher degree. The message of the congress, which will bring 10 thousand women together with the support of women from Turkey and the world, will be “More struggle against the policies that ignore women in politics”.
The women members of BDP, which has the highest rate of women participation in politics with 40 percent “gender quota”, are preparing for a new meeting to carry women to a higher degree in politics.
950 DELEGATES
The congress will be made on 31 October in Ziya Gökalp Xystus with the participation of 950 delegates. Woman members, who will be hosting a quite important meeting for determining women policies in party, will also conduct a conference on 28-29 October in Batman with the attendance of 250-300 delegates. BDP member women have been organizing meetings with broad participation in 45 cities for almost one and a half month and holding delegate elections. The main view of the congress preparation meetings was more women participation in politics.
10 THOUSAND WOMEN TARGETED
Giving information about congress preparations, BDP Women Council member Aynur Çoşkun said that they came together with thousands of women in 45 cities in the frame of the congress preparation, which was started on 13 September. Recording that they made the congress preparations under two separate commissions as technical and organizing, Çoşkun stated that they will give a strong message from the congress, which is expected to have over 10 thousand women participators in addition to 950 delegates. Çoşkun spoke as follows; “We have completed the delegation election. As the final stage, we are organizing public meetings everywhere. We gave weight to our works especially in Diyarbakır. We are making various training works. We are making meetings in all neighborhoods of Diyarbakır”.
Çoşkun added that women participators of the congress will also collectively join the trial of Kurdish politicians to support Kurdish women, who have been under arrest since 14 April.
A TWENTY FIVE- MAN WOMEN COUNCIL
Saying that they will select their 25-man women council in the congress, Çoşkun emphasized that they see BDP as the party of women, which was also proved with the 49 percent quota they applied. Remarking that the congress is an organizational preparation for the elections in 2011 and for the realization of the solution for Kurdish problem, Çoşkun said the followings; “Following the congress, we will set more women organization in motion and increase them. As BDP, we defend the equality of women and men. Saying that there are 48 women Mps in the assembly, Çoşkun recorded that the ten percent election threshold for Kurdish politicians is applied for women in the assembly. Çoşkun spoke as follows; “As Kurdish women, we are aiming to pass the election threshold of the assembly. Our aim for the following elections is to increase the women politics organizationally from local to the center and to give more epitomizing”.
KURDISH WOMEN MOVEMENT SETS AN EXAMPLE IN THE WORLD
BDP Women Council Spokesman Şükran Dikmen also remarked that Kurdish women are leading the politics, saying that the congress will be an important step for the revelation of woman willpower and women organization. Mentioning that women are now organized in council-model rather than women branches as in former periods, Dikmen underlined that they will be organized again with the congress, by holding serious discussions about country and district councils. Expressing that the Kurdish women movement sets an important example for the world women movement, Dikmen added that a number of women from women movements in Kurdistan Federal Region, Europe and Turkey will attend the meeting.
Translation: Berna Ozgencil
ANF / DIYARBAKIR
ANF NEWS AGENCY
