Kadın Olmak

Mekiye Derya Deniz

I was born in 1976 in Derik district of Mardin. I lost my father when I was 2 years old and my family moved to Diyarbakır to make ends meet. In 1994, I took part in dance and music activities at Mezopotamya Cultural Center, a cultural and artistic center in Diyarbakır. During this period, since there were many reports about me, I was subjected to threats and harassment such as being caught and detained by security forces many times, even though I was still a child. As this situation continued, my mother decided to move to Istanbul and in 1995, my family and I secretly moved to Istanbul by train to avoid being followed.

Here, I realized that I was being followed again, so I worked in various workplaces without insurance. We had to change residence four times in the same province. In the meantime, my lawyer at the time and now HDP MP Meral Danış Beştaş informed me that there was no arrest warrant against me, so we moved back to Diyarbakır.