Zozan Ozgokce, Turkey & Djeralar Miankeol, Chad
Zozan Ozgokce
Not far from where Kurdish militias are trying to hold the line against ISIS (Islamic State / ISIL / Daesh), Zozan Ozgokce is leading a different type of battle. She is a brave fighter and she is risking her life too, but she does not hold a Kalashnikov in her hands.
Zozan is a Kurdish feminist activist and human rights defender. For the past 15 years, she has been working to advance women’s rights, challenging the violent environment where she grew up.
In 2004, together with six other women, she founded Van Kadin Dernegi (Van Women's Association, VAKAD), to give legal and psychological support to women victims of violence. VAKAD also organises trainings, carries out research on women's rights and gender issues, raises awareness on these topics and engages in advocacy activities.
The organisation is based in Van, a predominantly Kurdish town in south-eastern Turkey. Sexual and gender-based violence is rife in the region. Since 2005, honour killings - the murder of a woman accused of having “dishonoured” her family - are punishable with life sentences, but they are still common and rarely investigated.
In 2011, Turkey became the first country to sign the Council of Europe Convention on violence against women. Yet, advancements in the legislation have not been matched by positive changes in women’s daily life. Nearly half the women in the Van province are illiterate and most of the girls get married at a very young age, often before they turn 20.
Kurdish women are often affected by state violence. Refugee and displaced women and girls, who fled the conflict between the Turkish army and Kurdish armed groups, are particularly vulnerable. According to the 2007 European Union research project, The Increase in Kurdish Women Committing Suicide, many women “have been victims of rape, sexual, emotional and psychological torture at the hands of the police, security forces and village guards”. In most cases they do not report these incidents, as they feel they cannot trust the Turkish authorities.
Being a feminist HRD in such a challenging context is a bold act of courage. Women like Zozan, who stand up and refuse to be silent, receive multiple threats at different levels: in their homes, in their communities, from the police and from state authorities.
“Many members of our association face problems with their own families. I had problems too, but now my family is proud of me and my work. They appreciate what I am doing, but not all the families are like mine,” says Zozan.
“The attacks against our organisation have become a usual thing for us,” continues Zozan. “The relatives of the women that we host in our shelter for victims of domestic violence have tried to physically attack us. They have approached our families and threatened them. They came to our office holding guns against us, just because we are helping other women and because we call ourselves feminists, and there is prejudice against feminism here.”
While part of the community supports the organisation and its activities, VAKAD has also been subjected to criticism and smear campaigns, orchestrated by conservative groups in Van that claim the organisation is undermining traditional family values. A few years ago, after attending a meeting in New York, Zozan was accused of carrying Bibles in her suitcase, even though she was only bringing brochures given by other women's organisations. As VAKAD receives international funds, the organisation has also been accused of being “an agent of foreign interests”.
VAKAD and its members have also been harassed by State authorities. The most recent inspection of the organisation's premises lasted one month. The inspectors checked the office every day, to read all their documents and their files.
“Police often come to our events and press conferences. This is very bad for the women. By simply standing there, the police officers intimidate them,” says Zozan.
On 14 May 2013, the police searched VAKAD’s premises without necessary warrants and the organisation was temporarily closed. The prosecutor accused VAKAD and nine other civil society organisations of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK). Three days later, in the second hearing of the case, charges were dropped.
In the last year, negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK broke down and armed attacks and violence have again become the norm for Kurdish regions of the country. As the violence escalates, the Turkish government is increasingly using anti-terrorism legislation to target legitimate Kurdish human rights defenders and their organisations.
“There is a militaristic, conservative mentality in the country. The Turkish State does not accept different opinions. But our organisation is trying to challenge this: we are an independent, feminist, anti-militarist and anti-fascist association, these are our founding values,” says Zozan.
When speaking about the Kurdish resistance, the international media has focused attention on the female fighters who have taken up arms against ISIS. Beautiful, brave, empowered, with heavy weapons on their shoulders and ready to die in the battle: this is how the global media portrays the female peshmerga. According to Zozan, however, wearing the same military uniforms of the men does not mean real empowerment and does not lead to gender equality. Instead, it perpetuates a hierarchic, violent and militarist system that should be challenged.
“Militarism also means brutal exploitation of community resources. The country’s budget is being spent on the war economy, rather than on social and economic projects. With the budget allocated to the Ministry of Defense in Turkey and all the money spent in thirty years of civil war, we could have solved all the social and economic issues of the country,” writes Zozan in her blog.
According to the human rights defender, the real struggle of the Kurdish women should not be a military one: “Our struggle is a different one,” says Zozan. “We do not have to adapt to the military mentality. Instead, we have to change the mentality of the society, and the basic strategy to bring about these changes is solidarity. Supporting each other and building solidarity between women and other human rights groups can help solve many problems.”
Djeralar Miankeol
Djeralar Miankeol, Director of Association Ngaoubourandi in Chad talks to Front Line Defenders about what inspires his work and the challenges that he and his colleagues face.
When I was growing up I was inspired by my grandfather who always believed, and who taught me, that freedom, justice and dignity were the most important things in life. These three values have been the entire basis of my education and my beliefs. A human being is nothing if you take away the freedom to think and to act, if there is no justice in how you live your life or carry out your work, and if there is no respect for your basic human dignity.
The organisation I work with is called Ngaoubourandi (in short ASNGA). The first part of the name means a rainbow which is a symbol of hope in our culture. The second part of the name in our language implies that – “I may have my back to the wall but I am not going to back down”. Our focus is on conflict prevention and the defence of the dignity of the voiceless who have no one else to speak out for them. Ngaoubourandi is the main organisation working to defend the right to land and the rights of small farmers and vegetable growers in the south of Chad. One of the ways we have been able to help people is by providing access to clean drinking water and basic health services. We have organised research projects, advocacy, round tables and conferences on the ground to highlight these issues. And to date we have been able to achieve some small successes, mainly in preventing land grabs, around the city and in the small villages, by members of the country's economic and political elites. So far we have been able to build an infrastructure which provides clean water to about 40,000 people and have also been able to build a small health centre but the real challenge for us is that our resources are so limited in relation to the scale of the problem.
We work in an environment in which human rights are violated on a daily basis by a government which is both repressive and corrupt. We are hit with illegal taxes, arbitrary arrests and the theft of the limited resources of the poor. And when we speak out about these abuses we face threats from the administrative and military authorities and their accomplices.
In July 2015 the High Court of Justice in Moundou convicted me of' contempt of court in connection with a broadcast interview I had given in which I denounced corrupt practices within the judiciary. I was initially sentenced to two year's imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 FCFA but this conviction was overturned on appeal. What is significant about my arrest is the message that it sends to the community of human rights defenders in Chad. The constant risk of arrest, the prospect of ill treatment in custody and the procedural flaws in the legal system threaten to discourage others who want to campaign for meaningful development and peaceful co-existence in the country. All human rights defenders in Chad are permanently at risk especially if they are working in those areas where there is an oppressive civil and military administration and where the legal system has been put in place and is effectively controlled by the ruling elite. When I was on trial last year both the State Prosecutor and the judge said “Human rights defenders wherever they are in Chad should draw lessons from the arrest of Djeralar Miankeol, because the next time it will be them”
The only good thing about this time in prison was that I learned about even more human rights abuses and broadened my own horizons. This time strengthened my own convictions and I emerged more determined that ever to continue the struggle to defend the rights of vulnerable people, of whom there are more and more in the country. On a personal, level many people see me as a courageous person who has taken a lot of risks. Some have even taken to calling me Mandela! Some officials give the impression of being afraid of me. They see me as protected by “the whites” because of the huge national and international campaign that was mobilised calling for my release. Others simply distrust me.
Personally I have taken the decision to go head to head with the authorities, even those who were implicated in my arrest and I will not hesitate to continue the fight for human rights. Two dealers who were selling land belonging to small farmers lodged a complaint against me accusing me of fomenting rebellion among the villagers following which I was summoned to appear before the new Prosecutor on 02 March. When the facts of the case were explained the sale was cancelled.
As the elections approach the intimidation is ongoing and unrelenting. All demonstrations are banned as is any statement or other comment by human rights defenders on the various private radio stations. For most people in Chad nothing has really changed and even the trial of Hissène Habre doesn't mean anything. Most of the people currently in power have been involved in killing or exterminating members of certain groups in the 1980's when Habré conquered the south. At the same time the people get a certain comfort from seeing pictures on television of Hissène Habré being dragged to the dock by force. Nevertheless the biggest legacy from that period is regret and bitterness.
I am motivated by my religious faith to keep doing this work on behalf of the poor, the vulnerable, those who cannot read or write and who cannot make their voices heard. In many cases I am their only hope. For me it would be irresponsible to run away or to sit around doing nothing. It would be a betrayal of my belief in justice freedom and dignity. Without hope we risk ceasing to exist. Hope is my first and last weapon. My strategy is to spark hope, as you would light a candle, in the minds of the young.
