The Istanbul Women and Women's Organizations Association (İKADDER) held a press conference titled "Announcement to the Public from Women" regarding the terrorist attacks in our country on September 17, 2015, at the Women's Education and Culture Foundation (HEKVA). The press conference was held with the support of 83 NGOs.

ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PUBLIC FROM WOMEN!

LISTEN TO OUR VOICE, HEAR OUR CRY!

We are speaking to you from Istanbul, Ankara, Diyarbakır, Samsun, İzmir, Malatya, Adana… We are as strong as the fierce waves of the Black Sea, as deeply rooted as the ancient history of Istanbul, and as hopeful as the fertile lands of the Aegean. We are from Southeastern Turkey, the first to greet the sun and sprinkle it gently over our families…
We are Anatolia. We are the women who made this land our homeland with our labor, who nourished our homeland with brotherhood. We are the women who make Turkey a family, with the children we give birth to and raise; with the homes we build and the sacrifices we make.
We are the mothers, wives, and children of martyrs. We all carry the sorrow of countless deaths in our hearts.
Listen to our voices. Hear our cries!
With every martyr who falls to the ground, a piece of our hearts is torn away. Newspapers are filled every day with photos of martyr funerals wrapped in flags. We are tired of those who create disaster scenarios by spewing hatred from their mouths! Let that beautiful journey, which began with "Mothers should not cry" and allows us to look to the future of our children with more confidence, not end. We want to walk that path, to strengthen the bridges. Let's not destroy the bridges of friendship that unite brother with brother!
The Middle East is burning, the whole world is pouring gasoline on this fire, and then watching. The children of a geography are bidding farewell to life in the sea, in terror, in the deserts without question. Türkiye is also being drawn step by step into a similar trap. We are addressing those who support and propagate terrorism from here: Terrorism, which turns brother against brother and neighbor against neighbor, will destroy you too. Your bombs, with their explosive power of thousands of tons, are exploding on our brotherhood, our youth, and our future. We appeal to the entire public:
We want peace and tranquility. We want Turkey to be a country where there are no reports of martyrs, where no one is harmed, where businesses are not stoned, and buses are not burned. We invite the political institutions to produce solutions, and we invite civil society, universities, the media, the art community, and the intellectuals of this country to be part of the solution.
The rhetoric that incites young people, divides society, and calls people to the streets must be stopped immediately. Social media has become a center for the production of hostility and incitement. Everyone who loses self-control and spreads information without verifying its accuracy is fueling this fire. We have responsibilities and things we can do. A peaceful and tranquil environment that surrounds society is not difficult or far away if we aspire to it and work for it. We, the women of this land, are speaking to you from different provinces of Turkey. We are Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, Circassian, Syriac, and Roma. We are Turkey. Certain dark forces are trying to sever the bonds of our brotherhood, but we, as civilian women, will maintain our unity and solidarity. As an initiative bringing together the women of Turkey, we promise before the public that we will fulfill our duties for peace, tranquility, and brotherhood. We are ready to speak, listen, understand, explain, and consult. We have set out on this path with this responsibility. We will be involved in the process and will follow it.
Respectfully announced to the public…
Istanbul Women and Women's Organizations Association (İKADDER)

Press Release