O Köy Bizim Köyümüzdür

Background

Based on field research in Batman and Siirt, women are not aware of their rights to succession and education. Early and forced child marriages are highly prevalent. Women who raise their voice against this discrimination are murdered in honor killings.

Project Goals

• In Batman and Siirt:
  • Meetings will be held to inform local headmen, religious leaders, teachers and gendarmerie.
  • 2,775 women living in villages will be interviewed in order to understand their needs and profile.
  • The outcomes of the interviews will be shared with Ministry of Family and Social Policies and other interested parties.
  • Informative meetings will be organized based on women’s needs and requests in order to provide support.

Project Results

• In Batman and Siirt:
  • 3,261 women living in 467 villages were interviewed.
  • After the interviews 189 women from the villages applied to KAMER to get help.
  • 12 informative meetings were organized with 1,742 imams, gendarmerie, local administrator, teacher and public actor to inform them about women’s rights.
  • The outcomes of the interviews were analyzed and shared with a public press meeting.

Testimonials

"The village felt completely deserted. We were just about to return, thinking nobody lived there, then we saw two women on the balcony of a house in the distance. The village and its inhabitants were severely affected by the years of conflict. The village was then evacuated by instructions of the government, but these people were unable to leave. There was no road, no water, no school. We told them our motivation for the visit. They couldn’t believe it. We were the first people in years to visit the village, and we were there to talk to these women. This made them incredibly happy. “So you have come all this way only for us? Only out of your concern for women?” they said, hugging us for a little while."

Field Coordinator

"I am 56 years old. I don’t speak any Turkish. I said “So you should do something for me.” My husband left me and the kids. He moved to the city center… With the Project team we went to the Bar Association to get the help of a lawyer free of charge, so that I can get maintenance without getting a divorce. Until we made the application I was feeling really unhappy. We prepared the necessary documents and made the application. Then I started feeling happy again."

Project Beneficiary