The Association of Women Workers (EKD) assembled at the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers in Beyoğlu, Istanbul, yesterday (27 January) to speak to the press. The occasion was the upcomingWomen's Day on 8 March and theTurkish local elections on 29 March.

An association representative read a statement in which she asked which promises made to women prior to the general elections in July 2007 had been kept.

She added that they wanted to participate in politics as workers and women, and demanded quotas in the local authorities.

A further demand was a ban on the dismissal of workers, currently on the increase.

The meeting was attended by MP Sabahat Tuncel of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), as well as representatives from a trade union for textile workers (Tekstil Sen) and the Socialist Party for the Oppressed (ESP).

Demands to local authorities

The association has made the following demands:

• Women’s shelters should be financed by the municipality and run by women’s organisations
• Municipalities should offer free-of-charge pre-school childcare and psychological support for family relations
• Social centres where women could feel comfortable
• Women’s health centres should also be set up in more remote places
• The inequality in access to public transport in different city quarters should stop. Bus stops should be safe for women. Public transport should be free in the mornings and evenings.
• There need to be many more waste disposal containers in order to stop rubbish from polluting the environment.
• Tap water needs to be clean enough to drink. If that cannot be achieved, drinking water should be distributed free of charge.  
• The preventative measures against natural disasters taken in rich quarters should also be applied in poor quarters of the city
• Squatter buildings should not be destroyed without social housing being available.

The statement also called for alternative reports concerning the punishment of sexual crimes, for a withdrawal of the General Health and Social Insurance Law, for an end to gender discrimination in education and for equal pay for equal work. (EZÖ/AG)