Here is the list of the 21 women, or movements led by women, that received the “2021 SES Women of the Year” award for being a pioneer in the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality in the world.
With the wide participation of the women’s movement in Turkey, SES Equality and Solidarity Association commemorated 21 women/movements that have inspired the struggle for gender equality and women’s rights in 2021.
The recipients of the “2021 SES Women of the Year” award were chosen with a survey that 690 women participated in. It was given to the women and movements that contributed to women’s solidarity by resisting systematic oppression in 2021.
Here are the recipients of the award:
The Women of the İkizdere Resistance
Women from İkizdere, who are resisting the plan to build a stone quarry in the İkizdere province of Rize, became a symbol for environmental rights and activism in Turkey this year. The resistance started after a presidential decree was issued for urgent expropriation in the İşkencedere Valley area. Locals filed a lawsuit against the project and stood against security forces and the company leading the expropriation. In their resistance, that continued for months, women tried to make their voices heard, by sometimes getting in front of the diggers, sometimes by resisting the police shields, and sometimes with the videos they shot.
Anne Hidalgo
Anne Hidalgo, who was elected the first female mayor of Paris in 2014, has adopted an egalitarian and environmentally friendly urbanism approach with her projects to increase the representation of women in the municipality, build bicycle paths, reduce vehicle traffic to combat air pollution, and expand the city’s recycling program.
Hidalgo, who was re-elected mayor in 2020 as the candidate of the Socialist Party, announced her aim to end polarization that dominates the French society, and stated that she is going to be a candidate in the French presidential election in 2022.
Afghan Women
The Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021 has irrevocably changed the lives of millions of Afghans, especially women. Afghan women are still fighting with great courage for their equal rights to education, work, and political representation. They are leading peaceful protests around Afghanistan even though they are met with brutal violence like being lashed with whips, and beaten with batons that emit electric shocks.
The Women of the Boğaziçi Resistance
The resistance of Boğaziçi University, which set off against the rector appointed to Boğaziçi University by President Erdoğan in the first days of 2021, has completed its first year. Boğaziçi students and staff are voicing the demand for a democratic, free and autonomous university. They also argue that the rector should be determined by democratic elections instead of by appointment.
Undoubtedly, the most striking aspect of the resistance has been the massive participation of women and LGBTI+ students, as well as the gender perspective that manifests itself in almost every activism, leaving its mark on the entire struggle.
Çiğdem Toker
Experienced journalist Çiğdem Toker, who closely follows tax, energy, privatization and competition policies, presents an important example of a journalism that focuses on benefiting the public.
As a prominent journalists pursuing investigative journalism in a political environment that restricts it, Toker has faced legal challenges due to her journalism as she was pursuing how public resources are transferred to pro-government companies. Demonstrating that publicist journalism is possible despite dozens of investigations and lawsuits against her, Toker offers a successful example of “how journalism should be done”.
Busenaz Sürmeneli
Busenaz Sürmeneli, brought Turkey the first Olympic championship in women’s boxing this year. She already had 3 world championships and 5 European championships. Stating that she was born to be an athlete, Sürmeneli wants to be remembered as a champion athlete: “My life purpose motivates me and sheds light on my path. I know very well why I do my job.” The new goal of Sürmeneli, who has become a role model for girls in a male-dominated sporting environment, is to “become a legend” in boxing.
Dilek Demir
Dilek Demir became the first female mukhtar in the city of Diyarbakır and saved 40 girls from child marriage with the “wish box” she set up in her office.
This has become one of the most important missions of Demir, who was also married at a young age. She is currently serving as the mukhtar for a second term, and won both of the elections with a huge margin. The most important goal for Demir, who wants to see herself in higher positions in the future, is to serve Diyarbakır and the people of Diyarbakır.
Hülya Gülbahar and EŞİK
The women’s movement in Turkey, which does not surrender to male domination has always managed to maintain its determination in the fight for rights. This award is dedicated to Hülya Gülbahar for pioneering the establishment of the Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞİK) and EŞİK which emerged as an example of solidarity from the women’s movement.
EŞİK, which has become a giant solidarity network consisting of more than 300 women’s organizations, expanding with horizontal networks, is one of the most important components of the women’s movement in Turkey. EŞİK has shaped the struggle against backsliding in women’s rights in Turkey with its struggle against the annulment of the Istanbul Convention and the judicial packages that seriously threaten the rights of women and children, its quest for equal representation of women in politics ,and its work against violence against women, legal support and campaigns, international women’s solidarity.
Polish Women Activists
The world has watched the struggle of Polish women activists that were resisting the abortion ban against the conservative government and the Catholic Church. They have organised solidarity marches and resistance against the backsliding taking place in their country.
Another area of struggle for Polish women has been the Istanbul Convention. Similar to what is going on in Turkey, despite Poland’s acceptance of the convention, “withdrawal” discussions have also been on the agenda in recent years.
Özlem Türeci
While the world was talking about the success of BioNTech, which developed the first vaccine against COVID-19 last year, one of the two founders of the company, Dr. Özlem Türeci’s name was ignored in media outlets in Turkey. Türeci was mentioned as “Uğur Şahin’s wife” in the news, which is a manifestation of the sexist language in the media. Türeci gave the best answer to all these in an interview. Türeci stated that the coronavirus vaccine was developed thanks to gender equality.
The White Wednesday Movement
Iranian women have been defying the bans and siege imposed on their lives by the Islamist regime by taking off their headscarves in public places and waving them from a high place with the “White Wednesday” protests they have been carrying out since 2017. Even though the oppression and arrests of the women who participated in the protests continue, the resistance carries on.
Ezgi Mola
Actress Ezgi Mola, who reacted on her social media account to the fact that Expert Sergeant Musa Orhan, who was on trial for raping İpek Er in Batman, who later committed suicide, was not arrested, was fined for “insulting” the rapist Orhan. Mola generated crucial awareness with her voice and by using her platform.
Elisa Loncón Antileo
In 2019, Chile was marked with protests that spread all over the country, following the protest of students against the hikes in metro fares in the Chilean capital, Santiago. During the uprising, women were the most ardent advocates of a constitutional amendment that would guarantee equal rights and participation in the public sphere.
With a referendum held after the protests, the people of Chile decided to write a new constitution by a Constituent Assembly, whose members were elected by the people. The new constitution is the first in the world to be written by an equal number of men and women. Elisa Loncón Antileo, a Mapuche native and a faculty member at the University of Santigo, was elected the president of the Constituent Assembly.
Hacer Foggo
Hacer Foggo, who has been a journalist for many years with her field research in the field of urban poverty and human rights, carries out a persistent struggle with the Deep Poverty Network. Especially in recent years, Foggo has become the symbol of the rights-based struggle in the field of civil society and has put forward the argument that the poor are not “needy” but “rightful”.
Foggo and the Deep Poverty Network are struggling to make it clear that people experiencing poverty are “active right holders whose potential must be respected.”
Emine Şenyaşar
Emine Şenyaşar has been holding a vigil in front of the Urfa Courthouse for months, demanding that the murderers of her husband and sons be tried. Emine Şenyaşar, lost her husband and two sons as a result of the attack of the AKP deputy İbrahim Halil Yıldız’s bodyguards and relatives, 10 days before the general elections on June 24, 2018 in Şanlıurfa. While there has been no progress to reach justice, numerous investigations were launched against Şenyaşar, who was repeatedly attacked by the police.
Turkey’s National Women’s Volleyball Team
Turkey’s National Women’s Volleyball Team achieved success by reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in Turkey’s history and with its performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Apart from their success in the competition, they showed solidarity and a self-confident struggle. The team Captain Eda Erdem was selected as the “Best Middle Player” at the 2021 CEV European Women’s Volleyball Championship. Capturing the title of best player in this category in the last four championships, captain Eda became the first athlete to achieve this.
MacKenzie Scott
MacKenzie Scott, who became one of the richest women in the world, following the compensation she received after her divorce from Jeff Bezos in 2019, continues to donate her wealth to various charities. Expressing discomfort with the concentration of massive wealth in a small part of society, Scott is working with a group of researchers and consultants to distribute the wealth. Most recently, Scott donated $2.7 billion to non-governmental organizations working on arts and education, and those seeking to combat racism, and inequality.
Elif Vatanoğlu Lutz
Elif Vatanoğlu Lutz is the first woman from Turkey to receive the Gusi Peace Prize, known as Asia’s Nobel and given to people who contribute to world peace.
Lutz, who founded the Oxytocin Medicine and Art Platform, is known for her work on increasing awareness of the hormone oxytocin, known as the “love bond hormone”, and using this awareness for social therapy in the fight against racism.
Merve Akpınar
The words of 13-year-old handball player Merve Akpınar, a student of Şanlıurfa Konuklu İmam Hatip Secondary School, about the difficulties she experienced when she started her sports career provoked a vital discussion in Turkey. Although she was told that she could not do the sport she loved because of her gender, the young athlete rose to success with determination and by fighting against prejudices. Let’s remember Akpınar’s memorable words: “You’re a girl, you can’t wear shorts, you can’t play with men, they always excluded me. I said, ‘No, why shouldn’t I play? Then I made a promise to myself. I said, ‘I will change the fate of the girls in my village’.”
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and African director-general in the history of the World Trade Organization. Okonjo-Iweala, who has made significant contributions to the fight against poverty in countries around the world, has warned countries against global vaccine inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic and argued that states should not practice vaccine nationalism. She has also called on pharmaceutical companies to produce a Covid-19 vaccine for everyone in the world or to voluntarily give their technology to developing countries.
Liana Georgi
German singer and songwriter and LGBTI+ activist Liana Georgi had entered our radar when she stood up against the police in the Pride Parade. Georgi, became one of the iconic names of last year when she walked in front of the police by shouting “There is love here, there is hope” and left her mark on the 19th Pride Parade in Istanbul. Madonna was one of those who shared Georgi’s video to her millions of followers. Sharing footage of Georgi walking in front of a crowded police convoy, Madonna asked, “Why are there so many cops?”, as she said, “Never underestimate women who wear high heels”, and those who turn their courage into love and hope without fear.