TRNC marks Women’s Day
THOUSANDS of women took to the streets across the country to mark International Women’s Day.
The main demonstration took place in the capital on Thursday evening, organised by the Women’s Education Collective, Baraka Culture Centre, Journey to Independence, Cyprus Pir Sultan Abdal Culture Association and Free Young Women’s Council.
Marchers processed from the Metehan junction in Dereboyu to a spot in front of the TRNC Parliament.
Women held placards demanding the closure of the country’s nightclubs, as well as slogans such as “Women walking against bigotry, fascism and war” and “There is no justifiable violence — don’t be silent and share the blame”. Kurdish placards were also seen.
In a joint statement, Pınar Piro of the Women’s Education Collective said: “Women are subjected to injustice by unequal roles, discrimination at school by gender and sexual orientation, exploitation at work and sexual harassment”.
She added that not only did women work more than eight hours a day, they also continued with “unseen” work at home.
In Girne, women gathered at Ramadan Cemil Square in an event organised by the municipality. Poetry recitals and music performances featured in the event, at which Anafartalar High School teacher Oya Kutsal made a speech about the meaning of the day. She was joined by teachers from other local schools, Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü, and UBP Girne MP İzlem Gürçağ Altuğra. Following a concert by the Dilara Ferit band, guests marched to the Kordonboyu area.
The March 8 Platform, formed by the Larnaca Turkish Women’s Association, NGOs and İskele MPs, left a wreath at the Atatürk monument in İskele before holding a minute’s silence. Members of the platform, who were dressed in black with purple blindfolds and gags, then performed a silent pantomime.
THURSDAY was also World Kidney Day and Cyprus Turkish Doctors’ Union board member Düriye Deren Oygar made a statement to mark both events, saying: “Five people out of seven to eight people in the world suffer from a chronic kidney condition.”
In the TRNC, an estimated 50,000 people suffer from kidney diseases and 350 kidney patients await transplants, she added.