Nilgün Yurdalan

Two licensed prostitutes stood as a candidate for 2007’s general elections in Istanbul. They couldn’t get elected of course, only got around about 300 votes. What Ayse and Saliha were saying is; ‘‘we became candidates in order to confront losers, women whose lives were stolen, to the winners who were stealing our lives away. For the right to live of those who has oppressed, treated contemptuously or incurred by sexual assault. We became candidates for the purpose of building up women shelters. For freedom and justice. For not being buried as a subject of a file in police records because of our prostitution licenses and trying to get rid of the records. We became candidates for our insurance rights and getting recovery payments. The freedom, which has granted by someone as a favor, means captivity’’

I was thinking about questions when I decided to make an interview with Saliha for Amargi. However, I couldn’t come up with the right questions. When we met, I asked her how she would like to start the conversation. She started talking about her daughters, which are the most important things in her life. The interview stopped frequently for some reasons, more often for sad reasons than funny ones. Since the things that she has remembered and I have heard.

Stolen Lives

In our stolen lives, every basic civil rights has been taken away from us. Not only ours but also our children’s right to live was destroyed. My older daughter wanted to be a police officer, but we figured out she couldn’t because of my license. While she was preparing for marriage with the guy who was a military officer, she learned that she couldn’t marry him too. She was disappointed and frustrated. All these things happened because of my license. I haven’t heard from her for two years.

I became a candidate to push for change in these laws, in order to provide our children the same legal rights with the children of a government employee, a doctor or an ordinary worker. If the state hadn’t done discrimination, if my daughter would have taken the profession she has preferred and if she would have married the guy she was in love with; neither would I be crying as I am doing right now, nor she would be lost.

Moreover, my younger daughter thinks that I have embarrassed her. I didn’t cover myself; exposed with being a candidate. She doesn’t want to see me anymore.

It All Starts With the Family

In my life, the beginning of everything is family. As far as I can remember my father was a factory worker in Adana. When he got kicked out of the job for political reasons, we left town and moved to the village with his recovery payment. We built very tiny shanty from corrugated metal -zinc- on the piece of land which was left over from my grandfather. My father didn’t have a job and he spent rest of the money on gambling. My mother used to ask him why he spent on gambling instead of children’s expenses; then my father used to beat her. There wasn’t enough food for all of us and we had to share even a single bit of bread. My mother used to make grape syrup and sell them to make money. While our life was going like that my mother became ill… They took her to the hospital. She had been cancer. She died 8 months after the doctors told that there wasn’t any treatment possible. She was 33 and I was 11. My father got married 3 months later. I had just finished elementary school and my youngest sibling was 1,5 years old. Someone adopted one of my siblings and my aunt adopted me. I didn’t know what I was going to do when my aunt’s husband started abusing me sexually undercover of compassion. We went to visit my father on holiday and I didn’t go back, stayed with my father. My father was asking why I didn’t go back to my aunt’s house. I couldn’t tell the truth. My aunt was expecting me to marry her son but I didn’t want to because I was afraid of her husband’s sexual abuse. When the woman I’ve met in the hospital wanted me to marry her son, I thought it could be a chance to escape. I was 14 when I got married. Everything started getting worse from the first day of the marriage. His family was knocking the door once in every half an hour, because they were expecting to see bloody bed sheet as a warranty of my virginity. I was inexperienced and scared. He raped me at that night with asking if I wasn’t a virgin. Finally, there was blood on the sheet. All of my body was wounded and full of bruises. The marriage has lasted for 7 years. I had two daughters. I had experienced violence by him and his family as well. I couldn’t take it anymore. I started to react. But in the end I came back to my father’s house. I was a widow at the age of 21. Even if any male being was interested in friendship with me, I was being accused of it and punished by my father. Since my sister was in love with someone, they took her to the physical examination by using force to make sure that she was a virgin. There was no peace of mind. Always violence.

Without Anyone’s Favor

I had a strong ambition to live without anyone’s help. We came to the city with my younger sister. I found a job in a supermarket. While everything was getting better, my boss learned that I was widow. His approach and attitudes were changed. Then, I quitted the job without even getting my paycheck. I had worked in various jobs. It was so difficult to find a job. We were suffering from poverty. We were staying at somebody’s place. Alcohol and drug parties were being held at home. No way. I dropped my sister at hair salon and started to be a part of the party.

I was impressed by compliments and kindness of the man who sold me to the brothel. He had bought roses for me. I had felt my femininity. He took me to the brothel in Kayseri. I couldn’t find any job for selling my labor and now my skin was being sold. The police caught me and five other women three months later. They put us into the bus and sent to Adana, then Alanya, then Antakya…

Water bottles and blankets on our hands, our bodies were being sold to men at forests. I entered to Kutahya brothel two years later. I’ve got my license. Bosses were treating us cruelly and badly in the brothel. There were also killings going on. They used to call them suicide. I finally came to Adana. My family had known everything but they did nothing about taking care of me. Women were being sold from one brothel to another like a commodity. According to her age, effort and the shape of her face, the prices used to change. I was bleeding frequently. In one of my surgeries, the doctor, son of a bitch, made tubal ligation without my permission. I recognized it during my second surgery years later. It was the end of everything for me. There was no one cares about me. Unfortunately, men are not brave, as we know too. My uterus and ovarian had been taken out because of bleedings. I wanted to escape but where could I go. I couldn’t trust any men. Every bad things I’ve experienced belong to men. I was not able to work without smoking joint or taking chemical stuff. I made a phone call to the TV show in one of those days. We organized to put hidden camera in my brothel. In this way, I escaped from the brothel with police beat. But I didn’t have money or place to go. The people who worked at that television station send me to the Konya Sefkat Association in 2006.

The Situation of Brothels

We are government labors; bosses should cover these women’s insurances. We are working under difficult circumstances and we are getting ill easily. When we get into the brothel, they start paper work for our insurances but they don’t continue to pay for it. I have been working in brothel for 11 years but they have only paid my insurance for 4 years. Now, I’m fighting for this matter too. I’m going to prosecute. Does not government know although bad conditions, a lot of women have to live in there? Does not know women bodies are being sold to at least 15-20 men in a day? There is no state control on brothels. Little girls are being forced to work with illegal changes on their ages. Everybody knows all these things but they don’t care. We will not disappear; even they act as if it had never taken place. They call us dishonorable woman while they call other women honorable. But they are selling our bodies, skins by using force in those places. Yes, we are accepting it like all other women who in a Polygamous Marriage or have experienced domestic violence by father, husband. Nothing to do…There are 68 brothels have legal permission to open and pay taxes. I don’t take into account of private brothels, streets, cars and forests. However, there are only 33 women’s shelters in all. These numbers show how bad the situation is. The things we’ve experienced are not only men’s fault. But also family institution and government are primarily guilty.

Process of the Election

There were no many changes in my lifestyle but we were exposed a lot. I’m deeply sorry since my younger daughter doesn’t want to see me. To find a job will be much more difficult after all. However, we have touched many people. This society cannot ignore us and deny what has happened. We made it out loud to anyone who wanted to hear. We met new people. Our power of struggle has increased. You guys are not like as we know, I mean feminists. I supposed that feminists are against men. However, male being is not an enemy for them, they against the things that have oppressed by men and against to turn into a slave. When I heard the feminists would like to make an effort for Ayse’s and my campaign, I was proud of it. But, they still don’t know a lot about the things we’ve experienced. I wish them to know. I wish everybody to know. How can be expressed the things that have happened?

Election Results

I think, people have never faced with this issue publicly. It is more like to be slapped, but don’t know the reason of it. I think they felt like this. They might not prefer to face. Basically, we are bad women for them. They thought why we became candidates with what kind of courage. For women, we are also potential enemies who entice their husbands. On the other hand, many people congratulated us on our courage and told us that they were glad. Probably, many of the senators are mother. I’m not asking them what you would do, if you were in my shoes. They let themselves be aware of our circumstances and see what they can do.

About Stolen Lives with Saliha Ermez (Interview) by Nilgün Yurdalan, PDF Version

From Amargi- Issue 6