June, 29, 2013

Eylem Karadağ is one of the resisting women. She had been taken into custody by the police during Dikmen Resistance in the evening of June26 and she had been sexually abused and threatened with rape by the police. She has spoken to Sendika.org and called for:: “We must speak out so they will be afraid of our courage, so AKP will no longer prevail misogyny, so the women walk out on the streets freely.

Eylem Karadağ

Women are on the front since the beginning of the resistance started in Gezi Park. Women have been present in the city barricades, park communes, neighborhood resistances, pots and pans actions. They have been the most activist, militant and resistance subjects facing AKP’s fascism expressing itself with TOMAs (anti riot vehicles) and all sorts of arms. Women had a substantial reason to resist against AKP; that is AKP’s misogyny which resulted AKP to target women during the resistance.

News gathered from all around the country clearly shows us that women are systematically abused by the police throughout the resistance and sexual torture is applied. Women are against this assault and calls for the expansion of the resistance. As Eylem have called for, “AKP government shall be afraid of the women as rage of women will overthrow AKP”.

Eylem, would you please tell us about yourself?

I am 25 years old and a master student in Mersin University. In the meantime I am a teacher candidate who has not been assigned yet. I am a part of Ankara İlker Halkevi (People’s House in Ilker, Ankara). I have been introduced to People’s Houses in 2010. My family lives in Mersin where once I were there, my uncle and I have visited Mersin People’s House. Where I felt very peaceful and I was among them protesting against the electricity bills. They were struggling for their rights in the name of education, transportation, health services, sheltering which is literally in the name of life. Now I am actively participating in People’s Houses engagements.

Can you tell us what did you live through on June 26?

We were marching in Dikmen, Ankara every night on 21:00 although there was a massive police attack. The elder people, young people, children, students, craftsmen were always Yaşlı, present in our marches since May 31. We have started to get to know each other and to talk with each other between two slogans. The most beautiful aspect of the resistance is that we all became closer to each other; it is indeed a perfect example of solidarity.

On June 26, we have started our march and protest and there were no attacks throughout the first 2 hours. We have spotted TOMAs and the scorpions (anti riot tanks and vehicles) around 23:00 and the police attack started shortly after which lasted until 01:00 . I have looked around for the 17-year-old boy of one of our woman friends when the riot police officers have entered our street. I have ran and hid myself in the garden of a teahouse where I saw D., my friend’s son.  We have waited there for a while as the riot police were in our street to attack us. I have asked from the teahouse people to take us in yet they have locked their doors and fooled around with us. Then, we have heard the police’s footsteps and they have spotted light on us. One of them and probably their chief in command instructed the officers to take us in custody. Although there was not any opposition against the police, they hit D. on the head and at his back. They were hitting on my head at the moment as well. They were fooling around as one of us was very young and the other one –me- is a woman. They took us to their vehicle known as scorpion and in the meantime they were hitting D. on his back continuously.

The police have commenced their abuse

One of the police officers was squeezing my breast while the other one was caressing my thigh. This abuse went along for a while and then they threw me into the scorpion. At that moment I felt a hand over my genitals. In the meantime they were continuously hitting on our heads. We have came to our senses when we heard one of the officers calling the other officer as “my commander”, he ordered them to f… us so the police officers have vigorously attacked us. One of them sat down on me and started to caress my breast and my neck with ihs bare hands and his elbow. It lasted until Ankara Police Department and in the meantime they were threatening me with rape. I did not speak up because there was a 17-year-old boy with me who was beaten up all through the way.

When we arrived in the police department, I have turned down their smoking and drinking water offers so they have insulted me saying “these inglorious shall not be kept without men”.  They have used the paint spray tube in my bag as a tool of assault and threatened me to tell them what I wrote with it. Otherwise they would record it in the report of proceedings. I told them “I am not responding to you by any means at all, if I had the chance before your attack I would write with my spray paint” and they have attacked me by calling me a traitor. Then came the custody, statement, forensic medicine experience and at last we were left free.

Women have hard time to speak up about the abuse as a consequence of social oppression, embarrassment and fear, yet we know for sure that numerous women have been sexually abused by the police during the resistance. What would you want to tell us about this issue?

I tell you about my own experience because I feel assured, I think that they have seen me inferior because I am almost half of their body and I was handcuffed from back. But in reality, they are the inferior ones as they have sexually abused me and threatened me with rape. I am in favor of speaking up about the violence so everyone would be informed. Yet I am sure a lot of women have lived through similar experiences and they are afraid of revealing because of the social pressure.

On the contrary, we –who lived through violence, abuse, rape or threats- shall not be silent. We must speak out so they will be afraid of our courage, so AKP will no longer prevail misogyny, so the women walk out on the streets freely. We were among the resistance on the front of this resistance as well as the other resistances. We will be in the resistance with our highest voice, our strongest posture led with our enlarging rage in the streets against AKP’s misogyny. AKP government should be afraid of women as their end will be of the women’s rage.

Women were on the front as you have also mentioned. Why did you personally take place in the resistance, what would you want to say about the resistance?

The Gezi Upheaval started in Istanbul and then outspread as a Mass Rebellion to Ankara and  overall Turkey. People have started to resist against AKP’s environment plunder by defending their parks, cities and avenues which all add up to their life areas yet all of a sudden  we all found ourselves resisting against AKP’s labor hostility, oppression and tyranny out in the streets.

The resistance had been so inclusive that women kept in silence that have been exploited under patriarchal system, women who were neglected, women who were exposed to violence, abuse, rape went out in the streets with their pots and pans. Women who were frightened by police starting from early childhood have met the pepper gas and the police batons. Moreover they have overcome the fear of police.

People who were not able to survive their lives properly depending on their retirement pensions came out on the streets. Alevi citizens who have been oppressed by the governments throughout the years have filled the streets with their accumulated rage.

LGBT individuals who have been neglected by the patriarchal state and society have been on the streets in order to end the homophobic hatred. Young people who do not know any other place than their own neighborhood but inhered with rebel were out on the streets. Everyone, all of us were on the streets, side by side in solidarity in order to revolt against oppression, violence, injustice and repression.

All above were sufficient for me to shout out on the streets and be a part of the resistance yet as a woman I had another motive fuelled with rage.  The prime minister have targeted women in all of his speeches. He had seen himself authorized when he made statements about abortion yet we were on the streets to say “both the decision and the life is ours”. Nobody was allowed to comment and make decisions on our own bodies. 4+4+4 educational system had been aimed to realize because women were planned to be made “reliable mothers for decent families”, girls were planned to be get married at early ages however we –women- were out on the streets to fight against AKP’s continuing obscure policies. We have been defending our rights to education by ourselves as women. To sum it up, I have been a part of Gezi resistance as I am a woman against AKP’s misogyny.