In her weekly article, Gülseren Onanç, the Founding Chair of the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, protests the closure case against the We Will Stop Femicide Platform Association. Onanç argues that in Turkey and the world, feminists should mobilise against the threats coming from the authoritarian patriarchal order.
Gülseren Onanç
I can’t bring myself to say and write this. I cannot even admit that what happened in my hometown bears similarities to George Orwell’s novel 1984. But that doesn’t stop me from ignoring what’s going on. In many cases, the police come to the door, suddenly brings a notification about an investigation, or take a person away. There are unlawful, unprincipled and immoral trials in the “palaces” on which justice is written. The authoritarian system is trying to eliminate those who contradict its values and question its authority. This system also has a collaborator; informant citizens. These people strive for the continuation of the system. They claim to protect the state, nation, religion, morals and family values. They aim to be “acceptable citizens” by complaining about those who pose a threat to the authoritarian government.
I had a similar scenario once.
Upon the complaint of someone whose identity could not be determined (even from his e-mail address), an investigation was launched against me for insulting the president. A policeman came and knocked on the door and summoned me to testify. The file containing my twenty Twitter posts did not include the name or the implication of the president. But I spent six months waiting for the outcome of this investigation with anxiety and fear. During the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, nearly forty thousand lawsuits were filed, and nearly two hundred thousand investigations were launched on charges of insulting the president. Fortunately, my investigation was dismissed.
They are trying to silence the voice of independent civil society
As the authoritarian regime increases its power, it also increases its pressure. It sees independent institutions that defend the rights and freedoms of the individual against the state as a threat to itself. Thousands of independent associations and foundations have been closed since 2016 and after the state of emergency that was introduced after the coup attempt. There is constant pressure on the open ones.
Non-governmental organisations that oppose the government’s policies are targeted and turned into enemies by the government. The regime wants to control them or shut them down.
The governorship, the police, the prosecutor’s office and the informant citizen unite against women’s rights
This week, feminist organisations received concerning news. With the request of the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Associations Desk and the Istanbul Governor’s Office, a lawsuit was filed against the We Will Stop Femicide Platform. The reason for the file was because the group was “carrying out activities contrary to law and morality.”
Journalist Gökçer Tahincioğlu said, “The case file is completely unique to Turkey. The whole process started in 2016, upon a criminal complaint that should not even be taken seriously, considering the spelling mistakes and the statements listed one after the other….”
The process then develops as follows: Istanbul Governor’s Provincial Associations Directorate takes this notice as an opportunity and conveys a request from the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office to close the We Will Stop Femicide Platform.
The prosecutor’s office wants evidence and documents. This time, the Governor’s Office requests the Police Department to initiate an investigation to find out whether the association’s management has a relationship with the terrorist organisation. The Prosecutor’s Office persistently follows the documents to come from the police, and finally, the file comes. The police demand the dissolution of the association, claiming that the purpose of the association has become unlawful and immoral, by citing the detention of women in the management of the association in various demonstrations and the statements about the detention of HDP female deputies.
Feminist organisations in the face of the rise of the authoritarian right
It does not surprise us that the authoritarian right wants to close the women’s networks that are fighting for equality in Turkey, as in Iran, Afghanistan, Poland and Hungary.
The statement of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform argues that the attack is not only against them but against those who defend the Istanbul Convention and against those who defend a democratic society.
They state that “We do not see this lawsuit brought against our association as an attack only on our own struggle. We know that this attack is an attack on democratic public opinion. The effort to intimidate those who struggle is not independent of the many lawlessness in the country. We will not normalise; we will not legitimise it.”
We take pride in the Will Stop Femicide Platform
The We Will Stop Femicide Platform, which reports the cases of murdered women in Turkey, was founded 12 years ago. It is an exemplary feminist non-governmental organisation that has received international awards. As a society, not just women, we are indebted to the organisation, which informs the public on suspicious deaths of women that the state consciously or unconsciously hides. The group brings these deaths to the surface with the data it publishes every month. We Will Stop Femicide Platform is an organisation that does more than just seek legal rights in courthouses. The association is organised from province to province with women fighting for equality.
We will never walk alone
George Orwell states that: “Something like 1984 could happen. The world is heading in this direction right now. The moral lesson from this dangerous nightmare is simple: Don’t let that happen. It is up to you.”
As the feminist women’s movement, we will not allow the authoritarian patriarchal order to dominate in Turkey and the world.
We know that we will never walk alone on this road!