İstanbul Kadın Müzesi - Filiz Kerestecioğlu

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Filiz Kerestecioğlu

Songwriter and composer of Turkey's first feminist song "Kadınlar Vardır"

"We sang the song 'We Are Here' together enthusiastically for the first time at the demonstration to protest violence against women on 17 May 1987."

Date of Birth: 01/02/1961 1961

Place of Birth: Gölcük, Turkey

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Women's rights activist, lawyer

"Mustafa Durmuş, a Civil Court judge, dismissed in 1987 the divorce application of a woman who had been subjected to violence. Heused the following argument in his decision, although using different words: 'A woman's tummy should not be left without a child and her back without a stick.'

This decision was one of the factors that ignited the Solidarity Against Violence Campaign. We were having unbelievably enthusiastic meetings, and the song was born in this atmosphere. I went to one of these meetings saying I wrote a song', and sang it for the first time there. Later, we sang this song, 'We are here' ("Kadınlar Vardır"), together at the Demonstration Against Violence Against Women on 17 May 1987 in Yoğurtçu Parkı in Istanbul.

When we came to Yoğurtçu Park, the park was full of police. We talked to the police to try to convince them to leave. We said, "If you stay here, women wıll not come here. . At least let the female officers remain somewhere on the side." They went outside the park, but there was still a big number of them. Then, slowly, women started to come in. There are certain stories about this; some say they were 1,000, others say 2,000. But, whatever the number, it was an important event.

There were women wıth very different socialbackgrounds; it was the most exciting, enthusiastic and extraordinary meeting that I had ever seen or participated in.…I remember very well the moment when I said by megaphone 'Let's start walking'... I did not show how nervous I was but my legs were trembling... Finally, we walked out and marched, and that was how the demonstration ended.

After the demonstration, we initiated a lawsuit against the judge. Later, we organized a women's festival. We wrote and published the book Bağır Herkes Duysun (Your voice must be heard), including witnesses' comments. We also established a olidarity network with a contact phone numberfor women subjected to violence.

It was for us very important to stress that the personal is political. Not all the women organizers and participants were feminists, but this demonstration was important in terms of spelling out feminism publically, because feminism was under a great deal of criticism at the time. The demonstration resulted in several permanent improvements.. The women's movement was institutionalised, and as a result of all the effort and debates the Mor Çatı Kadın Sığınağı (Purple Roof Women's Shelter) was established.

The shelter had the positive effect of taking a step towards changing many women's lives. Women subjected to violence needed that step, and that special care. When I look back now, we believe that what we did at the time was completely right and correct. Maybe our demands and what we said in those days were not very extreme demands, but they were a very good start."
FİLİZ KERESTECİOĞLU

Listen to "Kadınlar Vardır"

Publications of Filiz Keretecioğlu

(A selection)

İpek İlkkaracan, Pınar İlkkaracan, Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Zülal Kılıç, Ferhan Özenen, Gülşah

Seral (Ed.), Kadının İnsan Hakları Eğitim Programı: Eğitici El Kitabı, Kadının İnsan

Hakları - Yeni Çözümler Derneği Yayını, 2011

Hülya Durudoğan, Fatoş Gökşen, Bertil Emrah Oder, Deniz Yükseker (Ed.), Türkiye'de Toplumsal Cinsiyet Çalışmaları, Koç Üniversitesi Yayınları, 2010.

Sevda Alankuş (Ed.), Kadın Odaklı Habercilik, İstanbul, 2008.

Berivan Kum, Fatma Gülçiçek, Pınar Selek, Yeşim Başaran (Ed.), Özgürlüğü Ararken Kadın Hareketinde Mücadele Deneyimleri, Amargi Yayınları, İstanbul, 2005.

Filiz Kerestecioğu, "Organize 8 Mart", radikal.com.tr/

, 16.3.2003.

Awards

Memberships

Education

Istanbul University, Faculty of Law, Istanbul

Contributions to Society

1990 Mor Çatı Kadın Sığınağı (Purple Roof Women's shelter and Women's House), co-founder
1999 Women's Rights Action Centre of Istanbul Barr Association, founder
Editor of the magazine Feminist Dergi
Editing Director of the Law Magazine Güncel Hukuk Dergisi

Family and Friends

Commemorative Projects

Sources

Quoted Souces:

See the "Further Reading" section
Berivan Kum, Fatma Gülçiçek, Pınar Selek, Yeşim Başaran (Ed.), Özgürlüğü Ararken Kadın Hareketinde Mücadele Deneyimleri, Amargi Yayınları, İstanbul, 2005, s. 262.
Yasemin Öz, "Güldünya Şarkıları'na Feminist Bir Dinleyici Yorumu", Biamag, 13.12.2008.
Filiz Koçali, "15. yılında Dayağa Karşı Dayanışma Yürüyüşü", Bianet, 09 Nisan 2003.

Source of Visual Images:

Private archive of Filiz Kerestecioğlu
Private archive of Meral Akkent

Announcement

Filiz Kerestecioğlu would like you to donate any visuals you may have from the Demonstration Against Violence organised in Yoğurtçu Parkı on 17 May 1987 to be used in this website. Thank you!

Acknowledgments

The Women's Museum Istanbul would like to thank Filiz Kerestecioğlu for her support in compiling this introductory page .

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