WASHINGTON, DC and Sirnak, Turkey: Both looked pale, reserved and distant. With sombre expressions on their faces, Zeynep Yalçin and Kumri Bilgi embraced one another before the flashing lights of the cameras.
These women are two mothers from “opposite sides , representing the grim reality of the Turkish-Kurdish divide, which shattered many lives over the past 30 years. Almost identical with their white headscarves and floral printed cotton dresses, both women are from the city of Diyarbakir in southeast Turkey, but live lives that seem worlds apart.
On 8 August, thanks to the efforts of the Sirnak City Council and local non-governmental organizations, they were brought together to show that they, who endured the worst possible pain-the loss of a child-could find the strength to move forward together. And if they could, then what about major political players?
The women hugged one another and mourned for their sons: one lost his life in the name of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the other for the Turkish government’s war against the PKK. Is this symbol of two mothers’ realities what Turkey was waiting for all along?
Perhaps. And it appears that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is building upon this reality by opening discussions with and about the Kurdish population in Turkey.
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Besir Atalay, announced the initiative three weeks ago. He spoke about the urgency to end the ongoing saga that has been devouring the country from the inside out for decades. Nonetheless, he shied away from details concerning how this would unfold. He said only that his government was in contact with all stakeholders, including Kurdish factions, and that constructive steps would soon be taken toward a permanent solution.
Bringing these two women together has had more than just symbolic value in this context. Yalçin and Bilgi together, in one picture, represent the reconciliation efforts made by the core unit of society: the family. This is why it is crucial for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to further involve women in the peace process: women who are either actors in the conflict or affected by others’ actions must be included at the negotiation table as well as in the negotiations agenda.
One step toward including women in the negotiation process would be for the AKP government to bolster the socio-economic conditions of Kurdish women, assuring them their full rights as citizens-not just on paper, but in practice as well.
According to the Turkish Constitution, all citizens are entitled to inalienable rights. But this is not the case. If women are scared to speak their native Kurdish, which has been banned by the Turkish government for years, it is difficult for them to fully contribute to their communities and their country.
Furthermore, the Turkish government must fight rampant illiteracy in Turkey’s largely Kurdish southeast region. According to a 2003 report of the State Statistical Institute, the illiteracy rate for women in southeast Turkey is a staggering 44.6 per cent compared to 20.4 per cent nationally. The government must establish rigorous literacy campaigns both for Kurdish and Turkish speaking populations and focus specifically on women affected by the conflict.
A study conducted by KONDA, an Istanbul-based research and consultancy firm, shows that of the percentage of Turks in the lowest income bracket, Kurds make up 23.8 per cent. Improving the Kurdish population’s standard of living with measures as simple as providing running water, sanitation, basic healthcare and proper infrastructure would easily translate into better lives for women-and thus their families.
If the government can significantly improve the lives of women in the region, it may very well lower the number of disenfranchised sons at risk otherwise to become part of the conflict.
But this is only a first step. To build on it, we must remember Zeynep and Kumri: actively bringing people together across the divide can have a profound effect on the next generation of Turks and Kurds.
Fatima Abushanabis a research assistant with the Southeast Europe Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. This article first appeared in Today s Zaman and was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).
