MARDİN - HDP Women’s Council came together with Syriac women as part of the ‘’No to Women’s Poverty’’ meetings. At the meeting, Syriac women shared their experiences.

 

As part of the ‘’Justice for Women’’ campaign launched by the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Women’s Council, the ‘’No to Women’s Poverty’’ meetings continue in the districts of Mardin province.

 

HDP Women’s Council Spokesperson Ayşe Acar Başaran, party spokesperson Ebru Günay, MP Semra Güzel, Women’s Council members and HDP Mardin Provincial Co-chair Perihan Ağaoğlu met with women in Nusaybin.

 

‘They want to make our children Muslim’

 

HDP Women’s Council members later met with Syriac women in Eynwerdê village of Midyat. At the meeting where the problems were discussed, Barbara, one of the women in the village, shared the following: ‘’Currently, women here have difficulty in speaking, they cannot express their problems. Because they are afraid. We cannot make a living here. Because the people here not buy products such as cheese, milk, butter that we make because we are Syriac. We cannot send our children to school because the teachers want to make our children Muslim. We do not want the teachers to do that.’’

 

‘We are autochthonous peoples of autochthonous lands’

 

Speaking afterwards, Ayşe Acar Başaran stated that their aim is to ensure equality in society and said: ‘’We want to create equality in societies. In this program, we also visited Armenians, Ezidis, Syriacs and all segments of society. Our goal is to represent all peoples without discrimination, because we all come from the autochthonous peoples of these autochthonous lands.’’

 

‘They gave up buying the cheese when they saw the cross on my neck’

 

Another Syriac woman said: ‘’I took my cheese to Midyat to sell. I weighed them all, they would take my cheese. When I bent down and gave the change, they saw the cross on my neck and gave up buying the cheese.’’

 

The women’s delegation gave a message of solidarity and struggle by stating that Syriac women are not alone and that they will make their voices heard in every field they are in.

 

The delegation will continue their visit tomorrow in Kızıltepe.