Neslihan Şedal, who has been living in Van for about 25 years, is a graduate of the Sociology department.
She has also been actively involved in women's issues for a long time. Her main areas of work include combating violence against women, women's education and research, and developing the women's economy.
Having served as the director of Women's Policies at Özalp Municipality for a period, Şedal has also been involved in Jineology studies.
Nowadays, Nesihan Şedal, the mayoral candidate for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Van, is meeting with citizens. She says, 'The participation of women in local governments means solving societal problems from a female perspective.'
What difference does women's participation make in politics?
Actually, it is a fact in our society that politics, local politics, and administration are shaped by the male mindset, and even monopolized by it. The societal problems we experience are also the problems of the same mindset, and fundamentally, they persist through the issue of women's freedom.
We have a struggle tradition that regards all other societal problems as fundamentally linked to the issue of women's freedom. In return, we have a paradigm of democratic, ecological, and women's freedom-based local administrations that we want to implement.
We claim to be able to make our paradigm societal, starting from the local level, through local administrations. Actually, we have largely realized our claim."
"What are your comments on women's municipal governance?
We have examples of women's municipal governance. For example, the example of Nusaybin, Bağlar. Therefore, the participation of women in local governments means solving societal problems from a female perspective.
Building women's cities. It means getting rid of all kinds of codes of sexism from the cells of society. Developing women's living spaces, making women political subjects in society. It's actually organizing life.
“Trusteeship is an eco and women's genocide policy”
How do you interpret other political parties not including women candidates in municipal elections or allocating a limited quota?
The main difference between us and other parties is to express that women are the basic dynamic of change and transformation in politics, in fact in every aspect of life and struggle.
In a party where women are the leading political subject, will and change, weaving an egalitarian and democratic life and socializing it would be faster and more permanent. This finding has reflected our freedom struggle and all its fields with equal representation, and the co-presidency system has strengthened local democracy with female will.
Other parties don't have such a concern.
They don't have a concern like solving societal problems, meeting the needs of the people. While we talk about socialized municipalism, they are shutting down women's reality, which is attempted to be eradicated in every aspect of social life, as the main problem and issue to be solved.
From here, we tried to socialize the co-free life model and a more democratic, egalitarian, and women's liberationist life through local administrations. Therefore, the co-presidency model has become the most effective way to socialize our paradigm.
Where such a model comes to life, the power mind cannot produce itself. Rent-plunder politics cannot develop, monoculture cannot develop, hierarchy cannot form. Other parties actually don't have a concern like democracy.
They don't have a concern like equality and justice. Fundamentally, they don't have a concern like solving the problem of women's freedom. Men who see local administrations as a field of rent-capital do not want women to have a say in politics. Because according to them, politics is a man's job.
What are your thoughts on “trustee municipalism?”
The trustee regime is actually implemented against our paradigm that we just mentioned and are working to implement. To our free and equal life paradigm and co-presidency system. It was implemented to eliminate our spaces for women and youth.
It was implemented against our economic model that we want to develop and to the multicultural policies that we try to sustain in society. We have an ecological municipalism model and when trustees are appointed in response, they are currently pursuing a complete eco-genocide policy.
From the concreting of the shores of Lake Van to the opening to zoning, the looting regime continues through trustees. With the opening of agricultural areas to zoning again, the cultural assimilation policies continue.
With the closing of our multi-lingual institutions, the closure of women's living spaces, women's genocide policies deepen day by day.
“We will reinvigorate Women's Assemblies”
As a female mayoral candidate, what are your projects specifically aimed at women and for Van?
First of all, our work for women will continue where it left off. We will activate all closed down institutions and increase their numbers. Women's living centers, women's counseling centers, violence hotline, women's cooperatives, women's labor markets, purple sales points, women's rest houses, women's libraries, women's parks, and many other areas will be revitalized.
At the same time, we will increase the number of workshops and cooperatives where all kinds of production will be made from free women's villages this time. The Jin (woman) card application will be re-implemented.
We will open academies again. Women's healing houses, women's dengbej houses, women's cultural houses, women's art libraries, etc. We are planning to implement more projects, of course, while doing this, we will first create our women's council. We will listen to what women want and implement it together.
We will also prepare a strategic plan for women while making our 5-year strategic planning. We will create budgets for women, youth, ecology, and disasters. Apart from that, we have a concern to develop disaster-resistant cities. Crisis coordination centers will also be established by taking necessary measures against urban disasters.
First of all, creating building inspection teams will be our priority. Earthquake gathering areas will be established and will be equipped to meet all necessary needs." (NK/EMK/VK)
