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Women are stronger in the centenary of March 8! Labour Party, (EMEP), Turkey http://www.emep.org , mailto:international@emep.org   This year March 8 has a special importance because of the centenary of its proclamation. Women, who partook in the organised movement of the working class 150 years ago against brutal working conditions, discrimination and poverty imposed by capitalism, have gained many rights by their struggle. Today, women are struggling against national, sexual and class exploitation in a more powerful way.  There are no ´traffic accidents´, ´occupational accidents´ or ´natural disasters´, but the murders of the capitalism!  However, the repression, the exploitation and the discrimination haven’t disappeared yet. Women’s work still keeps on being cheap, unqualified, unorganised and insecure. The disasters experienced in Bursa, Ceylanpinar and Istanbul, prove this once more. It is clear that the reason of each one of those deadly events, which are presented to us as ´traffic accidents´, ´occupational accidents´, or ´natural disasters’, is the excessive greed of interest, exploitation and repressive regime and its implementations. Tens of women workers, who die at their work place or in the agricultural areas, keep on being the victims of irregular, insecure and oppressive working conditions. The women in the rural or the urban areas share the same fatality. The health of the women who work in the famous and big companies and markets, is disregarded in the name of high performance and productivity and the life is made unbearable for them.  Women are deprived of social security and education  Furthermore, there is a concept of ´family worker´ in the social security laws. Hereabouts these family workers, who are predominantly women, have no right to insurance. All health services have been marketized and have been made subject to payment under the name of transformation of health care by the radical changes in the social security field, thereby; women are deprived of social security. Education subject to payment and other inequalities also affect women deeply. This situation has caused the problems of women to increase more and more in our country.  Women are Subject to More Violence, More Murder and More Discrimination  The capitalist order feeds the domination, sexism, patriarchal/traditional violence on the woman together with all sorts of reactionism. This violence deprives women of the most fundamental human rights and moreover the economic and political crisis conditions cause more violence, more murder and more discrimination. The number of women, who are subject to vivisepulture, murdered in the streets, drifted to commit suicide and murdered under the disguise of having committed suicide, increases day by day. Approximately 1000 women were killed only in the last one-year. This is a proof of the case.  Women, whose Identity has already been disregarded and whose language has already been prohibited, keep on suffering  The concentration of the labour exploitation in a time of war and conflict and the reproduction of the dominant sexist social values in a more reactionary direction increase the burden of women very much. Existence in her own language and her own culture, improving her culture, education in the mother tongue, health care and public service are made impossible for the Kurdish woman whose identity has been a scorn, whose language has been forbidden, whose children, husband and brother/sister have been killed. The conflict conditions go on causing the women from all nations to suffer.  The Symbol March 8, the Women Workers of TEKEL  In this scene including conditions of class, national and sexual exploitation, the decisive resistance of TEKEL workers, who are forced to an insecure and futureless life, has motivated the labourers and the ones pro-labour to resist in our country. It is clear once more that the organised and the united struggle of the women has an indispensable importance to break the chains, not to lose the gained rights and not to turn to the slavery conditions of 150 years ago. The women workers of TEKEL, who fought in the front line, have already showed what the women could do. Labour Party has dedicated the 8th March of this year to the women workers of TEKEL, because they are the symbol of a decisive resistance of women from different nations, different beliefs and different cultures. In the centenary of the 8th March, the accumulated experiences of the woman movement will progress, as it is the case with the women workers of TEKEL.  The demands of the women for work, day nursery, education, health, social security, a humanly salary, peace, fraternity, equality and justice should be covered!   March 8 international women’s day should be an official holiday!  Every day is March 8 for social rights, equality, democracy and peace!  The women will join hands and the world will change!  Labour Party (EMEP), Turkey: Tarlabasi Bulvari, Kamerhatun M. Alhatun Sk. No:25/1 Beyoglu/ISTANBUL - TURKEY Tel:+90 505 9373757 (Mobile) +90 212 3612508 Fax:+90 212 3612509 |