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| Mehsa Mehdili |
“As it is wrong for a female activist to deny the national issue, it is also wrong for national activists to ignore women’s issues,” says Mehsa Mehdili in an interview with Voice of America. She emphasizes that the "Southern Azerbaijan National Movement" needs to prioritize women's rights in order to gain the trust of women. Mehsa, who lives in exile in Turkey, also evaluates the role of women's rights discourse in the democratization of social movements.
According to her, women’s rights activists must work both against the power of the state to eliminate problems facing women and work to create an appropriate environment within society.
“National movements in Middle Eastern countries, where women’s rights have been severely violated for many years, must pay attention to women’s issues,” Mehsa Mehdili emphasizes, stressing that social movements that do not address the core issues of society will not succeed.
“A social movement must recognize the society it defends and understand its problems. If human rights violations have become a norm in society, attention must be paid to them. It’s not enough to say that in Turkish history there have been heroic women or that Azerbaijan was one of the first societies to grant women the right to vote. But what about now?” says Mehsa, a graduate of Urmia University, expressing that the southern movement has not made significant progress on women’s rights.
In her opinion, “By defending women’s rights, the Southern Azerbaijan movement can not only become a leading force in society but also expand its base. Furthermore, women’s activism would strengthen democracy within the movement and weaken tendencies toward violence.”
Mehdili also criticizes the view held by some activists, who argue that women’s issues should only be addressed after success in national matters.
“Why should women’s issues not be brought to the forefront today? There is no harm in it, in fact, it might be beneficial. The national movement must address women’s problems and gain their trust,” the Southern cultural activist adds.
In the interview, Mehsa Mehdili also highlights the achievements of the Kurdish movement in Turkey in the field of women’s rights within the context of national issues.
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Məhsa Mehdili: Milli hərəkat güneyli qadınların etimadını qazanmalıdır