“Hey, don’t I look so fat in these jeans?”
“No, you’re NOT fat. Look at my thighs.”
“Oh, come on. You’re already so skinny. Ugh, I hate my stomach.”
“No, I’m the one who need to go on a diet”
Read MorePink heart emojis litter the background of an online chat room. Within a post titled “Announcement,” these words are written in polite, almost conciliatory diction: “The following videos are for your viewing pleasure. The girls depicted in them have been silenced. There is nothing to fear.” A chilling message follows: “We do not spread videos of faithful slaves who do as they are told.”
Read More“Nyeu (女)” –the general term that refers to a “woman,” possess a somewhat ambivalent, double- sided character in South Korea. A brutally murdered woman was named ‘Kareoke-nyeu’ as karaoke was the place she had her last breath. A woman who enjoys consumption of extravagant brand goods are condemned as either ‘Kimchi-nyeu’ or ‘Dwenjjang-nyeu,’ both of which contain dire misogyny towards Korean women specifically, as they utilize the name of kimchi and dwenjjang—both Korea’s traditional foods. Major media corporations are willing to capture the attention of millions of viewers by coining new ‘—nyeu (--women)’ in hopes of satisfying the mainstream, or in other words, male-dominated perspectives. The massively prevalent usage of such negative terminology on women leads the society to believe that all “nyeu (women)’” are to be blamed, denounced, and detested for their mere existence.
Read MoreWhat is the biggest challenge facing women and girls in Turkey today?
That might sound like a hard question to answer to some of you, but it is not for me, a sixteen year old girl born, raised and living in Turkey. The answer is child marriage, violence, unemployment, economic disparity, conservativeness, traditions, patriarchy, not being brought up equally as men, needing to look for a ‘rich husband’ or wanting to be a housewife since it is what women are worthy of ? And unfortunately, the answer is not one of them, it is actually all of them, but if asked to point out a single challenge which is the biggest one, I would say it is being underestimated.
Read More"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression." states the 19th Article of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But is it the case in my country, in Turkey? Let’s take a closer look at this crucial topic.
Read MoreAlbert Camus once said, “Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is.”
Fraternal hegemony of our society has always been the most challenging concept to battle with because of this refusal. This fracturing war against ourselves had created aa life that is torturing for the “weak”. Even though Darwin has theorized natural selection where the “weak” eventually die out; our “fragile” personas have remained everlasting simply because they prevail to be better, to bring out their best.
Read MoreA country with incompetent judiciary is more chaotic than a country without a constitution. Following this opinion, the purpose of this essay is to emphasize on the imbalance between the rights granted to women by Turkish law and how free and equal women really are in modern Turkish society and politics. This imbalance will be broken down to three major components sprouting from Turkish laws, culture and society; which are lack of education, insufficient penalties against hate crimes against women, and the lack of representation of women in Turkish society and politics.
Read More“My name is Asiye. And this is my story:
My family and I lived in Ketenli, a village of Rize, a rural area in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Ketenli is a village with a low literacy rate and where literacy is considered unfamiliar trait for a person. I started my life with a handicap: My father had a verbal agreement to betrothal with the richest man of the village. This means that my marriage was arranged by my family before I was born. This kind of marriage is very common in some parts of Turkey due economic reasons.
Read MoreI see a lot of problems in this country for girls and women. Starts with getting raped, taking insults, getting judged by their look and not being able to get into jobs as easy as men because of not getting accepted at job interviews with the reason of their gender being female. Men do not expect the same skills they have from women for some reason. All of these problems are a matter of disparity. I will be mostly talking about disparity.
Read MoreThe greatest challenge the woman of Turkey face is oppression in any way that can be applied through the way of superiority this complex mindset of politicians, men and the rich drown the ecosystem of equality in this society .In this complex structure, the woman are seen as additional support rather than columns that are required hold it all together. The women of Turkey are trying their hardest for safety, shelter, food basically all that are the minimum requirements to survive which are a must.
Read More“I don’t know if she is a girl or a woman”
on Dilşat Aktaş
“The left alone either goes to the drummer or the zurna player”
on the murder of Münevver Karabulut
“Isn’t your job at home enough for you?”
on the job request of a lady
“Turkish women are the ornaments of their houses”
on Turkish women
“Women are flowers”
on all women
Read MoreLast year I went to the ER complaining of a pain in my abdomen, not knowing that I had a kidney stone. The male doctor told me that it must be period cramps, seeing high amount of blood in my urine, despite me having repeatedly stated that I was not on my period and was in deeper pain. He simply did not care to listen.
Read MoreEveryday Turkish people wake up to news about violence against women. Rapes and murders are everywhere. Violence isn't the only problem women face either: Inequalities in the workplace and the justice system, safety, the identity society gave women and lack of education are some of the major issues women face in today's society.
Read MoreHaving deep conversations with cab drivers is an everyday occurrence around here. You would be surprised to see how many of these people would rather have a quick chat about news from around the world or our seemingly unfixable education system.
Read MoreOnce, our beloved leader Ataturk said: “ There is a way we can walk more confidently
and more accurately: to make the great Turkish women a partner in our work.”.
The word empowerment is defined as “the process of becoming stronger and more
confident”. From the very beginning, women have put their capacities in the background because
of the pressure coming from their environment.
Read MoreFemicide, “the gender-based murder of a woman or girl by a man” (1) is on the rise in Turkey. Within the last century, the respect for women worldwide has increased significantly, but it’s not enough as the femicides are still happening frequently in some parts of the world.
Read MoreIn Turkey, women are struggling for many years to get their fundamental rights. They have to prove themselves to be on a par with men. Although they face both psychological and physical difficulties, they do not give up because they know that the problem is not in themselves, but the system.
Read MoreI am a girl, a woman to be. And as far as I know; my parents were delighted when I was born; they have loved and protected me my entire life. While I was growing up, they kept telling me how precious and important I was. My mom has always told me, that I am full of potential and endless creativity.
Read More328. 409. 440. 474. These are the numbers of femicides that have taken place in Turkey over the last four years. Women have been burned, strangled, shot, raped, and killed in the homes they live in, streets they walk, schools they study, and even in hospitals where they go to seek help.
Read MoreStructural Nature of Work in Turkey over the last ten years among Organization for Financial Co-Operation and Advancement (OECD) member countries in Europe. Such claims were made by Turkey’s Minister for Labor, Social services and Family at a UN Congress held in March 2019.
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