CHP leader hails women

ANKARA

AA Photo

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu held the women’s branches’ congress after eight years where he praised the party’s female members and encouraged them to put more weight into politics.

“There’s no chance for a political party to come into power unless they attach importance to the power of women and garner their support,” Kılıçdaroğlu said at the opening of ninth Congress of the CHP women’s branches.

The CHP’s women’s branches held their previous congress in 2004, but the branch became inactive after a few years that the party had no women’s branch head between 2007 and 2010. After Kılıçdaroğlu came into power he appointed a new head for party’s women’s branches and encouraged the party’s provincial organizations to empower the women’s branches.

Yesterday the CHP held its women’s branches congress. Three candidates, Deniz Pınar Atılgan, Zühal Samlı ve Hilal Dokuzcan declared their candidacy for leadership.

Kılıçdaroğlu’s spouse Sevim Kılıçdaroğlu and the spouse of jailed CHP lawmaker Mustafa Balbay attended the congress.

Speaking at the opening of the women’s branches congress, Kılıçdaroğlu said he attached more importance to female representation within the CHP after coming to power.

Kılıçdaroğlu mentioned the 33 percent increase in female quota for all party bodies in his speech, adding “We, men and women, have to consider the conditions of Turkey and draw a roadmap accordingly. We have to struggle for a more independent and free Turkey together, as men and women together. Women are the part of Turkish society that suffers the most. Nobody can understand the suffering of a woman whose children are killed or raped. Our 34 sons were killed in Uludere [in a botched air raid in Dec. 2011] and only other mothers could understand the grief of the mothers in Uludere. That’s why, I’m appealing to mothers: you will grin and bear it, but continue your struggle.”
After his speech, Kılıçdaroğlu called the three candidates to the stage and said that he treats all candidates equally and does not wag his finger at any candidate. “This is our difference from the [ruling Justice and Development Party] AKP. There’s competition within CHP: We have three candidates, who are more valuable than each other. You will elect whoever you like,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The election was still under way when the Hürriyet Daily News went to print yesterday.