From Hasan to Hundreds: Emine Ocak’s Saturday Mothers.
Emine Ocak, whose personal tragedy ignited the Saturday Mothers (Cumartesi Anneleri) movement and inspired Kurdish mothers across Turkey, died on July 22nd, 2025, in Istanbul at the age of 89. She turned her grief over the disappearance of her son into decades of peaceful protest and became a moral symbol for families demanding justice.
A Quiet Grief That Became Public Resistance
Born in 1937 in Dersim, Emine Ocak survived early trauma during the Dersim massacres. Her son, Hasan Ocak, a teacher and political activist, was taken into police custody on March 21st, 1995, and found dead 58 days later, tortured and buried in the forests of Beykoz, Istanbul. On May 27th, 1995, Emine and her daughters, Maside and Aysel, launched the first silent vigil at Galatasaray Square in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, by holding photographs of Hasan. The simple act of sitting silently in public inspired other mourning mothers who were searching for justice for their lost children at the hands of the authorities, refusing to let their loved ones vanish from memory.
Emine Ocak and the Saturday Mothers
Emine, along with other mothers holding pictures of their missing children who had gone missing under police authority, played a crucial role in igniting a movement that continues to fight for justice today. Despite facing police brutality, bans, and arrests, the Saturday Mothers turned Galatasaray Square into a space for remembrance and defiance. The Saturday Mothers began with a small number of families. Under the determined leadership of Emine Ocak, they evolved into the longest-lasting civil demonstration in Turkey’s history. Every Saturday, the group would gather in silence for an hour, holding photos of the missing and red carnations to symbolise life and remembrance.
The Saturday Mothers, May 16th 1998 (Credit: Getty) & Emine Ocak at a Saturday vigil on Saturday May 16th 2020
Emine became the public figure of this vigil protest. Her strength and dignity in the face of police brutality motivated countless activists and families throughout the years. The 1990s, marked by Turkey’s armed conflict with the PKK, brought violence, political discrimination, and state brutality for Turkey’s Kurdish population. It was during this period that Turkey experienced some of the most severe instances of enforced disappearances, making the Saturday Mothers’ nonviolent protests a rare and significant act of resistance in confronting the state’s denial and silence for their children who went missing in their custody.
Despite repeated attempts from the Turkish government to criminalise the group, the vigils never ceased in spirit. Mothers seeking answers never stopped attending. When the authorities banned gatherings in 2018, Emine spoke up and said, “We will not leave this square. We will sit here until we find our children.” Under Emine’s steadfast leadership, the Saturday Mothers evolved into a powerful movement that sought not just justice for the disappeared but also served as a profound moral mirror for Turkish society. By organising peaceful demonstrations and sharing personal stories of loss, these mothers forced the nation to confront the painful and uncomfortable realities of widespread human rights abuses. Their unwavering commitment highlighted issues such as enforced disappearances and state violence, ultimately challenging citizens and officials alike to acknowledge and address these injustices aimed primarily at those who were Kurdish.
Emine Ocak arrested in Galatasaray Square in 1997 and 2018 (credit: Ahmet Shik/Hayri Tunç)
Defiance in Court, Brutality by Detention
Emine’s activism was never short of personal cost: On April 11th and 17th in 1995, shortly after Hasan’s disappearance, she was arrested twice for protesting in court and sentenced to one month in Ulucanlar Prison each time for ‘disturbing public order’. In July 1995, during peaceful protests, she was struck on the head with a truncheon by police and detained for ten hours. Amnesty International issued a landmark report in May 1998 documenting with photos how the Saturday Mothers’ weekly sit-ins were met with escalating police violence and state inaction over enforced disappearances.
On August 25th, 2018, during the 700th vigil, she was detained at age 83 when police violently dispersed the gathering at Galatasaray Square. But Emine remained unshaken. She often was noted in the media to repeat, “We will sit here until we find our children, until no mother - Kurdish, Turkish, or otherwise suffers this pain again.”
Key Dates in the Saturday Mothers’ Movement:
1995 – 1999: The Saturday Mothers held weekly silent sit-ins at Galatasaray Square.
March 13th, 1999: Protests were halted due to increasing police intervention.
2009: The Saturday Mothers resumed weekly gatherings at Galatasaray Square.
August 25th, 2018: Police cracked down on the 700th sit-in, using rubber bullets and detaining relatives of the disappeared (all released later that day).
2018 – November 2023: Authorities banned assemblies at Galatasaray Square for over five years.
Legacy & Farewell
On July 24th, 2025, thousands gathered at Galatasaray Square, Istanbul, for Emine’s final farewell. Politicians, activists, civil society leaders, relatives, and mothers she had inspired adorned her coffin with red carnations. Together, chanting, “We’re here, Mother,” in a final farewell.
At her memorial, Sebla Arcan of the Human Rights Association said, “She (Emine) came to Galatasaray as Hasan’s mother, but a hero who never surrendered… she became everyone’s ‘Mother Emine.’” Her daughter Maside added, “Mother, you weren’t just our mother. You became a hope for millions. Even in sorrow, you found hope. Even in darkness, you never wavered.” Her son Hüseyin Ocak added, “Emine Ocak was born in the very heart of pain.” recounting a time that she was born in 1937 in Dersim during a period of ethnic cleansing and massacres where “Even as a baby, death surrounded her,” He recalled how a tribe fleeing into the forest had considered killing her and her twin to avoid detection. “From that day on, death never left her side.” (Quotes from her memorial service, Bianet, 2025)
Kurdish activists often refer to Emine as not just ‘Hasan’s mother,’ but as ‘the mother of all the children lost in Cizre, Lice, Dersim, Suruç, and Roboskî’. Emine Ocak’s activism resonated deeply with Kurdish mothers. Her leadership offered them a platform to transform grief into resistance in arguably the safest public space to do so.
Although she passed without seeing justice for her son, Emine’s legacy endures. The Saturday Mothers continue their weekly vigils, quietly demanding truth, memory, and justice. Emine Ocak is survived by her children and the movement she helped build, which remains one of the strongest moral voices for human rights in Turkey. Her life is a testament to how one mother’s love can ignite a movement that refuses to let the disappeared be forgotten.
Emine is buried in Gazi Cemetery next to her son, Hasan Ocak, and her husband, Baba Ocak.
Photos: Ayşegül Başar/Bianet
Awards and Honours Received by Emine Ocak
1996 - Carl von Ossietzky Human Rights Medal
Awarded to the Saturday Mothers in recognition of their courage in confronting forced disappearances during the 1990s. Emine Ocak, as a pioneering figure, was part of the group honoured
2013 - International Hrant Dink Award :
Presented to the Saturday Mothers for their significant contribution to Turkey’s human rights movement. Emine Ocak received the award on behalf of the group alongside other activists.
2013 - SODEV Human Rights, Democracy, Peace and Solidarity Award:
Granted by the Social Democracy Association (SODEV) in recognition of the Saturday Mothers’ long-standing moral and democratic struggle. Emine Ocak represented the collective acceptance.
2019 - PEN Duygu Asena Women’s Rights Award:
Awarded specifically to Emine Ocak (alongside her daughter Maside) on behalf of the group. Presented by PEN Turkey in Istanbul in March 2019, honouring their unwavering defence of women’s rights, memory, and justice.
Emine Ocak, with her daughter Maside, accepting an award by PEN Turkey, which honoured Ocak’s pursuit of justice, 2019 (Credit: Turkish Centre)
