Diyarbakır Hippodrome provides women with jobs

The biggest in Turkey, the Diyarbakır Hippodrome attracts women who want to work in the horse-racing sector. 

“Being a trainer in the therapy center with horses has ensured a lot of changes in my life. We are both doing our duties and socializing here,” Kadriye Abatan told Anadolu Agency, adding that she was happy with her job. 

“We went beyond the ordinary by working in this sector,” she also said. 

Another woman who spoke to the agency about working in the Diyarbakır Hippodrome, stable worker Yasemin Hocaoğlu, said she preferred to work in the sector due to her love for animals.

“I don’t understand how time passes when I’m doing my job. It’s therapy for us to do it. After all, it is beneficial for us to work rather than sit at home,” she added. 

The Diyarbakır Hippodrome in the province’s Çınar district provides some 1,000 people with seasonal jobs and has been active for seven years. Constructed by the Turkish Jockey Club (TJK), it hosts races from September to January every year. 

Saying that the facility provided job opportunities, the manager of the hippodrome, Yılmaz Çelik, noted it was founded in order to promote horse cultivation and contribute to the local residents’ economic and social life.

“The Diyarbakır Hippodrome provides added value to the economy with its size of employment. A total of 45 million Turkish Liras were spent on the facility’s cost until today,” Çelik told Anadolu Agency, adding that most of the jockeys were people living in the area and the hippodrome contributed to the development of horse breeding in Diyarbakır and neighboring provinces. 

“The hippodrome makes a positive contribution to the development of the region with all of its infrastructure and social activity areas,” he also said. 

During the interview, Çelik said the facility was among the significant investments in the region, adding that they were uncomfortable with the region being mentioned in relation with terror, referring to attacks by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the region. 

“We are uncomfortable of our region being mentioned with terror. We are bringing significant efforts to life in the areas of social activities. We are carrying out efforts with the Sur district’s governor’s office in order to help the children who are victims of terror get over their traumas in the therapy center with horses. A total of 800 terror-victim children will receive therapy there,” he also said.