The Jiyan Neighborhood Market, established in 2013 by the Bağlar Municipality in the Bağlar district of Diyarbakır to support women’s economic independence, is today one of the symbols of women’s labor and resistance. In this market, which was established so that only women could work, over 200 women started to contribute to the household economy by opening stalls.

However, the changing political climate and the change of ownership of the municipality over time began to threaten the women’s structure of the market. With the entry of male market vendors into the area, women began to be pushed to the background both economically and socially.

Women’s resistance: “I am one of those who never give up”

Müslime Kelekçier, who has been opening stalls in the market since the very beginning, is one of the pioneers of the resistance against the presence of male market vendors. She describes this struggle for Şoperêç as follows:

“Today, our market has become a market and men have set their eyes on our bread. They said women will leave their places. Those who are not resistant left, but I did not. I did not give up. Our call is clear: Let them remove these men from among us.”

These words are a clear expression of women’s efforts to protect their own space and their solidarity.