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The “Women's Movement in Turkey with World Examples: Yesterday, Today and Future” Lecture was Held with Filiz Kerestecioğlu at the Vicdan Foundation Human Rights School!

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WOMEN'S STRUGGLE FROM THE DUSTY PAGES OF HISTORY TO TODAY

Within the scope of the online Human Rights School organized by the Vicdan Foundation, a lecture titled “Women's Movement in Turkey with World Examples: Yesterday, Today and Future” was held on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. The lecture was given by Filiz Kerestecioğlu, who has been working in the field of women's rights for many years as a lawyer and who brought the women's struggle to the agenda of the Parliament during her term as a member of parliament.



Kerestecioğlu, who traced the historical traces of women's rights from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution, from the Ottoman Empire to the present day, said, "Unfortunately, official history did not record what women did and wrote. Today, we are still conducting an 'archaeological excavation' to rediscover many sources," and shed light on women's works and struggles that have been overshadowed by history.


FROM THE FIRST WAVE FEMINISM TO THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE OTTOMAN PERIOD

Kerestecioğlu, who explained with examples how women who demanded rights after the French Revolution transformed the social dynamics of the period, also emphasized the women's movement in the Ottoman Empire. She conveyed the importance of pioneering figures such as Nezihe Muhittin, who were tried to be erased in the 19th century, and how the first women's magazines and associations opened the door to social influence. Kerestecioğlu, who said, "Women wanted to take their constitutional and political rights into their own hands, but countless obstacles were placed in their way throughout history," said that a determined women's struggle always underlies the legal and social gains in the first wave of feminism.


SECOND WAVE FEMINISM AND THE RE-RISING WOMEN'S MOVEMENT IN THE 80'S

Kerestecioğlu stated that second wave feminism, which rose in the West in the 1960s, began to make a splash in Turkey in the early 1980s. She explained that female intellectuals, especially those from university circles, and consciousness-raising groups established against the oppressive environment following the September 12 coup led to the spread of feminist consciousness.


Recalling that the March Against Battering held in 1987 was the first mass women's action after the coup period, she said, "Women brought domestic violence to the public agenda by challenging the claim that the private sphere is 'non-political'."


In the 1990s, Mor Çatı stated that women's visibility increased and they created a collective power through feminist magazines, campaigns and street festivals.


KURDISH WOMEN'S MOVEMENT AND INDEPENDENCE IN IDENTITY POLITICS

In another important section of the lecture, Kerestecioğlu emphasized that Kurdish women had opened up an autonomous space in the 1990s in their struggle to protect their own political and social rights. Kerestecioğlu stated that thanks to this, the general women's movement in Turkey had become much more inclusive and pluralistic, and commented, "Kurdish women developed a strong objection to the racism, militarist violence and economic exploitation they were subjected to through the common denominator of feminism." She stated that feminist solidarity intersected with the resistance of Muslim women against headscarf bans during the same period.


LEGAL REGULATIONS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ISTANBUL CONVENTION

Kerestecioğlu, who stated that the women's movement in Turkey has achieved many legal gains, from the amendments to the Civil Code to Law No. 6284, underlined that feminist activists played a major role in the inclusion of issues such as marital rape into law. Kerestecioğlu, who said, “The decision to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention is a blow to women's years of labor, but women are still resisting to put this convention into practice,” emphasized the need for a monitoring and implementation mechanism that is sensitive to all segments of society.


CONTRIBUTION OF FEMINIST POLICIES TO DEMOCRACY

Filiz Kerestecioğlu answered questions at the end of the hour-long lecture, saying, “Women’s demand for rights, justice and equality is the biggest obstacle to any kind of authoritarian regime, especially one-man rule. As the struggle expands and different identities get to know each other and show solidarity, the boundaries of democracy will also expand.” She emphasized that civil society and the younger generations are more likely to embrace the different approaches of feminism and that they will grow the change together.


COURSE PROGRAM ENRICHED WITH DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES

The online course program of the Vicdan Foundation Human Rights School continues with speakers from many different disciplines such as law, sociology, philosophy, civil society studies. Those who want to get detailed information about the courses can follow the foundation's official website and social media accounts.

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