Selin girit biography books

On 20 July 2015, the international community was shaken by the news of the murder of 31 civil society activists, many of whom were women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the predominantly Kurdish city of Suruç in Turkey. The activists were on their way to rebuild the war torn Kurdish city of Kobane in Northern Syria, carrying toys and books for orphaned children.  

Although the attacks were attributed to the self-proclaimed “Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant” (ISIL), many point to the government of Turkey’s complicity in the bombing of activists to curb peaceful advocacy in solidarity with Kurdish minorities of the region.[1]

The assassination of the WHRDs at Suruç took place almost one year after the poignant intervention by Iraqi Ezidi MP Vian Dakhil on abuses committed against Ezidi women and girls by ISIL. It is worrying to observe violence targeting women in the region has escalated since Dakhil’s call. Despite ongoing challenges and organised violence, Kurdish WHRDs continue to develop new strategies to tackle oppression by governments and violent non-state actors.

AWID spoke with five Kurdish women activists to learn more about their experiences of defending Kurdish women’s rights, and to analyze the challenges and opportunities for the struggle in Iraq, Turkey and Syria.

In recent years, there has been a considerable increase in the visibility of the Kurdish struggle in Turkey and Syria; yet, media attention on Kurdish women has mostly focused on their engagement in armed combat against ISIL[2]. This has unfortunately obscured the multiple dimensions of Kurdish women’s activism and limits understanding of their meaningful involvement in conflict resolution and advancement of human rights. Kurdish women human rights defenders have greatly contributed to the fight for the minority rights of Kurdish people and for gender equality in Kurdistan[3], in a climate

On Sept. 17, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) hand delivered its latest letter to Turkey’s Ministry of Justice, expressing the group’s deep concern over the “continued press freedom crisis in Turkey.”

The CPJ had previously published a long and detailed special report on media freedom in Turkey in October 2012, and this latest letter, addressed to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, explains how the difficulties described in that report remain unresolved. It also discusses the increasingly oppressive environment in the aftermath of the summer’s anti-government Gezi Park protests, paying particular attention to the fact that open threats from officials have become worryingly commonplace, which “emboldens zealous prosecutors to go after critics.”

The letter doesn’t much dwell on the issue of ownership and conflict of interest – by no means the be all and end all, but certainly a crucial issue that must be addressed if improvements are to be made. Other than that, it makes for a good primer on the biggest challenges to freedom across all media in today’s Turkey: imprisoned journalists and associated legal irregularities, the inappropriate use of anti-terrorism laws, censorship and self-censorship, gag orders on sensitive issues, and the threats being issued by government figures with increasing brazenness. Below are some of the most salient points made in the CPJ’s letter:

“While the restrictive laws and prosecutions are central to the media crisis in Turkey, so too is the atmosphere fostered at the top levels of government. When top officials use the term ‘terrorists’ to describe critical journalists they send a disturbing message that could cause others to take action …

“With traditional media under pressure, the Internet, including social media, has become an important outlet for free expression in Turkey. But recent official comments, including threats to restrict the online flow of information, cause concern …

“Time and again, histor