 Established two and a half years ago, the Socialist Feminist Collective has 200 members in Turkey. |
The Socialist Feminist Collective, or SFK, which was established 2.5 years ago to fight for the rights of working women, took the spotlight when it staged a protest at a conference by the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen Association, or TÜSIAD, entitled “Women in Working Life.”
“We see feminist tendencies with Ümit Boyner [president of TÜSİAD]. However, it is impossible for us to reconcile with TÜSIAD,” said members of SFK, which gathers professionals from different ages. Some employees of TÜSIAD member companies were among them.
With approximately 200 members in the country, SFK together with other feminist organizations runs two campaigns with the slogans “We rebel against Women’s Murders” and “Men owe us.” They also publish a quarterly titled “Feminist Policy” in addition to a bulletin, “The Witches Kitchen.”
‘We can meet as women’
“Our goal [during the protest] was to show how two-faced big capitalist groups are when it concerns women’s labor,” said the members, who are not well known in the media.
It is a positive thing that TÜSIAD has been managed by women during recent years, said Gülnur Acar Savran, yet she argued that from the perspective of SFK, the problems in women’s labor are related to gender and social classes.
“Personally, I find Ümit Boyner to be very smart. But in the resolution of women’s labor we have different opinions,” she said.
Savran said she believes Boyner’s approach to them during the protest – inviting them inside and mentioning SFK in the conference – was a feminist approach. “If men had made the protest and if the TÜSIAD chairperson was a man, he would have never invited protesters inside. This happened because we are women.”
When reminded that Boyner invited them to meet TÜSIAD’s Gender Equality Working Group, Selin Dağıstanlı of SFK said, “We prefer to meet her not as the TÜSIAD chairwoman but as a woman.”
“We don’t think TÜSIAD members are sincere. Some TÜSIAD member companies only give a 10-minute restroom break to employees, we know that. Is this not a contradiction? Güler Sabancı said (when she addressed the conference), ‘In order to be successful in business life, grit your teeth and continue to smile.’ However, we say ‘rebel.’ This is the difference.”
“We see feminist tendencies with Ümit Boyner [president of TÜSİAD]. However, it is impossible for us to reconcile with TÜSIAD,” said members of SFK, which gathers professionals from different ages. Some employees of TÜSIAD member companies were among them.
With approximately 200 members in the country, SFK together with other feminist organizations runs two campaigns with the slogans “We rebel against Women’s Murders” and “Men owe us.” They also publish a quarterly titled “Feminist Policy” in addition to a bulletin, “The Witches Kitchen.”
‘We can meet as women’
“Our goal [during the protest] was to show how two-faced big capitalist groups are when it concerns women’s labor,” said the members, who are not well known in the media.
It is a positive thing that TÜSIAD has been managed by women during recent years, said Gülnur Acar Savran, yet she argued that from the perspective of SFK, the problems in women’s labor are related to gender and social classes.
“Personally, I find Ümit Boyner to be very smart. But in the resolution of women’s labor we have different opinions,” she said.
Savran said she believes Boyner’s approach to them during the protest – inviting them inside and mentioning SFK in the conference – was a feminist approach. “If men had made the protest and if the TÜSIAD chairperson was a man, he would have never invited protesters inside. This happened because we are women.”
When reminded that Boyner invited them to meet TÜSIAD’s Gender Equality Working Group, Selin Dağıstanlı of SFK said, “We prefer to meet her not as the TÜSIAD chairwoman but as a woman.”
Don’t be patient; rebel now!
Berrin Hatacıklıoğlu, another SFK member, said the flexible working model that the business community has been demanding would force women into cheap labor as well as jobs without security.“We don’t think TÜSIAD members are sincere. Some TÜSIAD member companies only give a 10-minute restroom break to employees, we know that. Is this not a contradiction? Güler Sabancı said (when she addressed the conference), ‘In order to be successful in business life, grit your teeth and continue to smile.’ However, we say ‘rebel.’ This is the difference.”
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