SES Equality and Solidarity Association gave the 2022 “SES Women of the Year” awards as a symbol of gratitude to women who inspire women and women’s struggle worldwide and in Turkey. A wide audience attended the award ceremony held at the Pera Museum on January 26.
The “SES Women of the Year 2022 Awards, “ selected with broad participation from the women’s movement, were delivered to their owners at the ceremony held on Thursday, 26 January, at the Pera Museum.
The ceremony, which has been organised for the second time by the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, was attended by writer Ayşe Kulin, CHP’s Istanbul Provincial President Canan Kaftancıoğlu, TÜSİAD President Orhan Turan, DISK President Arzu Çerkezoğlu, Hacer Foggo, Türkan Elçi, Mirgün Cabas, Yakın Ertürk, Fatmagül Berktay, Fuat Keyman, Muammer Keskin, the Mayor of Şişli and many others, including KAGIDER chair Emine Erdem, academic Binnaz Toprak and Feride Acar.
20 women from Turkey and the world that set an example with their pioneering, egalitarian and feminist stance in the struggle for women’s rights or gender equality were elected by a public vote. They inspired women with their achievements or contributed to solidarity by resisting systematic oppression.
The event was held at the Pera Museum and hosted by journalist Özlem Gürses, while Marjinal carried out the press communication. The book featuring the stories of the women who received awards is edited by Eda Doğançay, illustrated by Ramize Erer and designed by Tolga Yılmaz.
Click the photo below to read the stories of 2022 Women of the Year
“Women who give hope through their resistance”
Regarding the award ceremony, which was held for the second time this year, the Founding President of the SES Equality and Solidarity Association Gülseren Onanç said: “The words that summarize the year 2022 for women are ‘resistance’ and ‘hope’. Women resisted against wars, systematic violence against women, femicide, and against the oppression of reactionary powers, especially in Afghanistan and Iran. They resisted to protect their trees, forests, streams and greenery. They resisted for free and autonomous universities. They resisted sexual abuse, sexual orientation and discrimination against LGBTI+ individuals. They resisted low wages, mobbing and union hatred. With their courage, determination, success and exemplary solidarity, women became hope for the country and the world. We owe our gratitude to those who gave us hope with their resistance this year. SES Women of the Year Awards are a testament to this debt of gratitude.”
SES Women of the Year 2022
Among the inspiring women of 2022, there was the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, Sera Kadıgil, MP for Workers’ Party of Turkey (TIP), Women Workers’ Resistance, 1000 Women for Freedom to Aysel Tuğluk, Keep Gokturk Green Initiative, Beats by Girlz, Iranian Women Resisting the Regime, Afghan Women Resisting Against the Taliban, Ukrainian Immigrant Women, Gezi’s Women Prisoners Mücella Yapıcı, Çiğdem Mater, Mine Özerdem, Singer Gülşen, Environmental Activist Süheyla Doğan, LGBTI Families, SPOD Association, Boğaziçi Academics, Volleyball Player Ebrar Karakurt, Russian Anti-War Women Journalists, and Hazal Sipahi.
The Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given for the first time this year, was delivered to the Women’s Coalition, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2022.
Receiving the award on behalf of Iranian women protestors, Iranian actress and activist Parastoo Salehi said, “We are very happy to be here. We thank you and Turkey very much. You have supported us a lot during this period. It is very precious for us. We are not only fighting for the compulsory headscarf, we want freedom now. I hope women will always be free in the world, in Iran, in the Middle East, in Turkey, everywhere.”
“The women’s struggle woke me up”
Turkish Labor Party MP Sera Kadıgil, who received her award from Prof Dr Binnaz Toprak, said the following in her speech:
“I am happy that I can throw what I have learnt from you to the face of that old rich hetero men’s club in the parliament, thanks to you, I thank you very much. I am not saying this for nothing. You woke me up, the women’s struggle woke me up.”
Gülşen, who could not attend the award ceremony due to her illness, emphasised that she did not feel alone in the video message she sent:
“I know that I am not alone. As a daughter of our secular republic, I know that none of us are alone. This award is not a gift for me, but rather a reminder to defend all our rights granted by our secular republic every day and to work for more. A country where even one person is not free and remains in darkness is an enslavement for our secular republic and for us, its children. Whatever I have dreamt for myself in my life, I have dreamt for all of us. I have always known that each one of us is actually all of us. For this reason, I accept this award on behalf of all the people of my country whose minds are free, conscience is free, and wisdom is free.”
We Will Stop Femicide Platform, which continues its struggle despite a lawsuit that was filed for its closure, was also named to be one of the Women of the Year. Speaking on behalf of the platform, Fidan Ataselim said, “We said that if you can’t do it, we will keep women alive. So they don’t come down on their own. Then we will send this anti LGBTIQ+, misogynist, anti labour political power away. Yes, we are fighting against femicides and we have been deemed so dangerous that they are trying to shut us down. But no matter what they do, it is not possible for them to stop the women and LGBTIQ+ struggle.”
Dr Zakira Hekmat, Founder of the Afghan Refugees Solidarity and Assistance Association (ARSA), who received an award on behalf of women resisting Taliban in Afghanistan, gave examples from her own childhood and described what Afghan women are going through as follows:
“Right now in Afghanistan, women and girls who are deprived of everything you can think of because of their gender. I am receiving this award on their behalf. I can understand the feelings of the women living in Afghanistan very well as I have personally experienced what they feel. If you are a woman in Afghanistan, you are not considered as a human being. But the resistance in Afghanistan continues, not only in Afghanistan but all over the world. Last year we received support from many women’s organisations, especially the EŞİK Platform. I would like to thank the SES Equality and Solidarity Association for being here today. Receiving this award today on behalf of women and girls in Afghanistan is a sign of international solidarity. This will not stop here, we will continue to be the voice of women and girls living in Afghanistan in the future.”
Another ‘Woman of the Year’, Olena Velychko, the legal officer of Childhood Without War, a charitable project for saving the lives of Ukrainian children, said:
“I really appreciate Turkey for protecting us and our kids, our orphans. War in Ukraine has changed our life. Ukrainians have been killed and kids, children are getting killed. Our charitable project, Childhood Without War is to save lives of Ukrainian children. Since March we have evacuated one 1600 children. We provide them necessary needs, accommodation, food, insurance, medical care, education, entertainment. We are just like a mother of all these orphans. Let’s unite and save lives of Ukrainian children together.”
Nataliya Vasilyeva, Russia correspondent for Telegraph living in Turkey, who received an award on behalf of Russian anti women journalists dedicated her award to her friends in Ukraine.
“People of Ukraine who are getting killed every day. My colleagues and I have been documenting war crimes. Those war of Putin regime have to be punished. I am getting this award on the behalf of Russian journalists. I would like to dedicate to my friends in Ukraine including my friends and camera women whose hometown in Ukraine has been erased to the ground and ex-husband and father of her child was killed by Russian troops. Journalist in Ukraine are choosing their profession over their private lives and people send their parents and their kids to continue to work in Ukraine risking their lives on a daily basis. We have to choose between doing our jobs or quitting or waiting for being prisoned. There are hundreds of reporters, a lot of them women, who left their families and homes to be able to do their jobs just like myself. Because that is the only thing, we can do in this horrible situation that we hope that we can stop the war in Ukraine.”
