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MAYOR TAMER MANDALİNCİ’S MESSAGE FOR INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY ON 8 MARCH
07.03.2026
In a message issued for International Women’s Day on 8 March, Mayor Tamer Mandalinci shared the following words:
“International Women’s Day on 8 March is less a celebration than a reminder. It stands for a historic resistance against the exploitation of labour, inequality, discrimination and violence.
For centuries, women have voiced the same demands: equal pay for equal work, safe working conditions, a life free from violence, equal representation in decision-making, and a dignified life. Yet even today, women’s labour is undervalued, pressure is placed on women through their bodies and identities, and women’s right to live is threatened. No one has the right to treat this as normal.
We know that the struggle for women’s rights is not only a women’s issue. It is a struggle for democracy. A struggle for the rule of law. A struggle for equal citizenship.
In Bodrum, practical steps are being taken to strengthen women’s place in social and economic life. Women’s cooperatives are being supported, opportunities are being created for women producers, and women’s labour is being made more visible in the local economy. A determined stance against violence towards women will continue. Gender equality is regarded as one of the core principles of Bodrum Municipality’s approach to local governance.
However, it must be said clearly: equality does not arrive by itself. Rights are not simply granted; they are won through struggle. For this reason, 8 March is a day to strengthen solidarity. A day to speak more loudly against those who try to silence women. A day to say, ‘We will not give up.’
As local leaders, work will continue for a Bodrum where women can live without fear, receive the full value of their labour, and have an equal voice in decision-making. A city in which women are free is, in the fullest sense, a free city.
Today, I once again stand with all women whose labour is made invisible, with women who have lost their lives to violence, and with all women who resist for equality and refuse to step back.
With solidarity, with hope, with determination.”
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