Sebahat Tuncel, a Kurdish female politician who has been held hostage at the Kandira F-Type Prison since the 4 November 2016 operation carried out against the HDP, says that the struggle and the problem of women who are the target of both capitalism and male dominant mentality is universal.

Tuncel added: "Women's solidarity not only crosses borders, it also crosses walls. We also participate in the women's freedom struggle and solidarity in prison in the ways our conditions allow it."

On the occasion of March 8, Sebahat Tuncel answered ANF questions regarding the current situation of women and their lives in prison.

What do you think about the constant attacks against women and the struggle developing against them?

I greet all women who are struggling and resisting on 8 March, International Working Women's Day. Since 2015, in Turkey a monolithic bloc has carried out sexist, nationalist and militarist policies targeting women, working people, youth... Discrimination, violence, harassment and rape and massacres against women have increased. On the one hand, while women's struggle was visible, on the other hand, the male dominant approaches, male and state cooperation led to women being exposed to discrimination, violence, sexual abuse, more impoverishment and exploitation of their labor.

The Kurdish women, especially political women, who work for women's freedom and liberation were targeted. Despite these oppressive and difficult policies, Kurdish, feminist and socialist women's movements continue to 'fight and resist' against male domination and capitalist attacks in all areas of life. Every 8 March is more participated than the previous one. Women from all over the world object to the hostile governments of the countries with the same song and dance. The women's problem is a universal problem that transcends borders. We all know that the capitalist modernist system has developed through male domination. For this reason, the solution of women's freedom is also an ideological problem. It is not possible to talk about a true social freedom without criticizing the male-dominated capitalist society, its patterns and practices.

You welcome another 8 March in prison... What are you doing in prison as women? How would you spend this 8 March?

This is the fourth 8 March I spend in prison. In this process, we tried to contribute to women's struggle for equality, freedom, peace and justice with our opportunities. Women's solidarity not only crosses borders, it also crosses walls. In our F Type isolation condition, the most crowded meeting is of 3 people, but our voice, our word reach each other by overcoming the high walls and wirest. We sing songs loudly at the same time. We dance and of course chant the slogan Jin jiyan Azadi. 

Prisons are imposing isolation conditions and, of course, violations of rights. What is the situation for women?

Indeed, there are serious violations of rights here. This is also related to how the power approaches social and political problems. The insolubility of economic, social and political problems, equality, democracy and lack of freedoms, and male-dominated understanding lead both to the filling of prisons and to the elimination of human rights there.

Here, the only rule which operates "the state is right in any case". Those who object to the violations of rights are punished. There are practices that disregard human dignity. I can give you an example from my own experience. Here you need to remove shoes from the room at every entrance and exit. Often this turns into a torture. Sometimes you exaggerate this practice based on the strength of the uniform on the officers, and when you object to this, you face disciplinary action. They gave me a 3-day isolation cell sentence (as if the place we were staying was not an isolation cell). I objected to the execution judge, but as I said, 99% of these objections are rejected. Kocaeli Assize Court is like a notary. They imposed a "ban for some activities" for a year because of the hunger strike we carry out. As you can see, every day of life goes through struggle and resistance to protect human dignity.

HDP celebrated its new congress. As you know, this congress was held under many pressures and arrests. One of the biggest reasons for the appointment of trustees to HDP-run municipalities for the second time was the co-chair system. What will you say about the government's targeting a direct women achievement?

The co-presidential system led to very important achievements in terms of ensuring equality between men and women, democratization of politics, strong participation of women in politics, and development of local democracy.

It is also an important system not only for women, but also for minorities, belief groups, and disadvantaged people. Because our co-chair system does not only ensure equality between men and women, but also takes the representation of peoples and beliefs as basis.

It is applied not only in representative locations, but also in all mechanisms established for the organization of the society, from the headquarters to the provincial and district governments, from the neighborhood and village assemblies to local governments, with a 50% gender quota. This is also a psichological revolution. It is a struggle for the development of a democratic, ecological, female liberal mentality with the ideology of women's liberation against the male-dominated society and the mentality that closes women in the house by expelling them out of political, economic, cultural and social life. It is the biggest blow to patriarchy. Therefore, proponents of the male-dominated political understanding in Turkey, who see gender equality as a threat to their future act with the motto 'hit women first'. 

Therefore, political women are targeted first and women's gains are crashed. It is not for nothing that the policy of trustees target the co-chair system: they are afraid of the path of equality and freedom that women open. But these are futile efforts. All women who struggle for equality and freedom, especially Kurdish women, will continue to resist and fight against the male-dominated, capitalist order. With its new congress the HDP has shown that it will enlarge the line of women's freedom and will fight for the democratic, ecological women's libertarian system that the people long for.

What is your message for 8 March?

We in Kandira prison are joining all the women who have increased resistance by adapting the song by Las Tesis. We welcome another 8 March of resistance. We resist against all kind of discrimination and violence, against war, exploitation, unemployment, poverty. Women are shouting in the streets. The rebellion and the torch of liberty that women burned on 8 March are already enlightening Newroz. I wish a happy 8 March of struggle and solidarity to all women fighting everywhere.