8 March, International Labouring Women's Day has been saluted through a demonstration in Kadikoy/Istanbul on 4 March.
Behind the common banner written "Women, let's struggle unitedly against imperialist aggression, oppression, exploitation and chauvinism!", approximately 3000 women from HOC , EKD , HKM, EHP , Kaldıraç, Partizan, B DSP , DKH, Tekstil Sen, Belediye-Is , BES and KESK participated in the march. The bloc of HOC (Front for Rights and Freedoms) and TAYAD (Solidarity Association with the Prisoners' Families) and the bloc of EKD (Labouring Women's Association) and ESP (Socialist Platform of the Oppressed) called attention with the massiveness of their columns.
EKD (Labouring Women's Association), whose president Cicek Otlu was also imprisoned during the September attacks of the state against socialist organisations, opened the banners "Long Live 8 March, International Labouring Women's Day!" and "Let's increase the struggle against the violence on women, against chauvinism, poverty and degeneration!".
The members of the textile workers' union Tekstil-Sen participated in the demonstration with a banner written "Working women, let's fight for peace, equality and freedom!" and they carried the photographs of Ayse Yeter Yumli, general president of this union, who is the only female trade union president in the country and who was imprisoned as well during the September attacks.
A speech was made on behalf of the united platform on the stage and the following words were said: "In our country as well as all over the world, the state has been trying to extinguish the content of 8 March and to turn it into an ordinary ‘women's day' for many years. But we will defend the tradition and values of struggle that were created on 8th of March, because 8th of March is a product of the workers' and labourers' struggle and it belongs to the labouring women."
It was also emphasised in the speech that worker women are employed as cheap labour force without the right for security and trade union; how the denial and annihilation policy against the Kurdish nation affects the Kurdish women, what effects on women have the imperialist wars and occupations in Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon; and 3 Iraqi women who were decided to be executed were saluted from the stage. The state terror was also condemned.
Another speech was made at the stage on behalf of the trade unions Belediye-Is, BES, Tüm Bel-Sen and Tekstil-Sen. Nevin Berktas, who was released after 22 years in prison spoke about the problems of female political prisoners. Two representatives from TAYAD (Solidarity Association with the Prisoners' Families) and TUYAB (Support and Solidarity League of the prisoners' Relatives) also spoke at the stage.
The militants of our party MLCP took their place in the demonstration with their slogans and they distributed flyers written "Long Live 8 March, International Labouring Women's Day!" and "Women, to the party, to MLCP!"
On the same day, women from DTP (Party of Democratic Society), from EMEP (Labour Party), from SDP (Party of Socialist Democracy) and from different feminist circles organised another demonstration in Istanbul at Abide-i Hürriyet Square, where approximately 3 thousand women participated. Men were not allowed to participate in this demonstration.
On 4 March in Adana and Ankara, demonstrations were made for 8th of March and in Antep, women made a massive march.