Working for Women Without a Life
bianet met with Tükrükcü and Ermez at the headquarters of the Association for Homeless, Powerless, Hungry, Victims of Sexual Abuse and Violence, the Door of Compassion, the Fight against Poverty and Human Rights for the "Others" (Sefkat-Der).
A story of abuse
Ayse Tükrükcü was raped by her uncle when she was nine years old, and she stayed in a children's home in Germany for five and a half years. She got married at the age of 23. When it did not work out, she returned to her family after two years, and then married a second time very quickly. Her second husband forced her to work in a brothel in Mersin, a city in southern Turkey. In the two and half years that Tükrükcü worked there, she had nine abortions.
No control in brothels
"Brothels are allegedly under state control. But there is no control. You have to work all the time, even if you are ill. I had nine abortions and was forced to work before recovering properly. Now I cannot have children. Sex workers all work this way. It is claimed that their social security contributions are paid, but that is not true. That's why brothels are full of 70-year old women who still have to work."
Tükrükcü finally managed one of her customers. She found out that of the two years she had worked, only 210 days had been covered by social security payments. When she tried to get other work, she had to face the fact that every new workplace would find out about her previous job. She wants her time at the brothel to be wiped off the records.
Erdogan had given hope
Tükrükcü recalls how then mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had given her hope when he had declared that "we will give our mothers and sisters who work in brothels all their rights". However, once in power, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has forgotten its promises.
"We are not 'life women' (a term for prostitutes in Turkish), we are women whose lives have been stolen", says Tükrükcü.
According to official records, there are 68 brothels and 32 "rendezvous houses", but only 32 state women's shelters. Tükrükcü estimates that around 3,000 women work in these brothels and says: "These women have nowhere to go if they decide to leave a brothel. My aim is to find them a place to stay, to give these women a new life. I have been getting very positive reactions."
Supreme Electoral Committee has rejected candidacy
The Supreme Electoral Committee had rejected her candidacy because of previous convictions and is now considering her second application. Should it be rejected too, Tükrükcü plans to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. "I hope to get compensation and rent a house near parliament. Then I will turn the house into a shelter for sex workers." (AÖ/EÜ/AG/EÜ)