ŞIRNAK – “Go out and take a step to make yourselves happy instead of wasting your invisible labor at your home,” said Hediye Gençer, who sells honey in a bazaar of Şırnak’s Cizre district. 

 

Number of women creating their own economy on fertile soils of Kurdistan is increasing day by day. These women produce organic food sometime alone sometimes collectively. Women work on almost all stands set up in a bazaar on Dörtyol Avenue of Şırnak’s Cizre district. Hediye Gençer is one of these women, who bring organic products from their villages to the bazaar. 

 

‘We work in every phase of producing honey’ 

 

Hediye has sold honey in bazaar for eight months. She told us the preparation of honey as follows; “We have bee hives in our village. Our first duty is to control the hives and protect them. My children and I take care of them. We give sugar to the bees. We take them to highlands in summer to have good quality of honey. We take them down from highlands at this season. Taking them there and down is difficult. My children have to take care of bees, hives and honey. We make a living and create our own economy in this way. There is no better feeling in the world than having your own economy.” 

 

‘It is difficult but we manage on’ 

 

Hediye said she had departed from her village to Cizre in early morning hour and she didn’t leave the bazaar until late hours. She said she had come from her village to Cizre with a group of women and she added, “We are working communally with women in the village. We start off from the village and we have a warm talk until we arrive to Cizre. All women sell what they produce. Despite cold weather and municipal police, we don’t leave here. As women, we discuss how we can get our economic freedom. For now, we have taken a step by selling our products and we can do better.” 

 

‘Go out instead of wasting your invisible labor at your home’ 

 

Hediye said she felt stronger after creating her own economy. She underlined that a woman should never depend on a man or a person and she called on women as follows; “Women have more self-confidence when they get their economic freedom. Go out and take a step to make yourselves happy instead of wasting your invisible labor at your home.”