Prof. Dr Nermin Abadan Unat, one of the first female academics in Turkey, and who is celebrating her 100th birthday this year, reflects on why she joined the protests against the appointment of an unelected rector at Boğaziçi University and discusses her views on what lies ahead.
With the appointment of Dr Melih Bulu, an outsider and an academic closely aligned with the government as the Rector of Boğaziçi University with a Presidential Decree on January 2, a resistance emerged from the students, staf and the general public. This has been broadly named the Boğaziçi University Protests, which has centred on the primary demand for democratic elections for appointing the university rector. Even though Bulu has been dismissed, and a new rector Dr Mehmet Naci İnci, has been appointed, the struggle still continues.
One of Turkey’s first female academics, Prof. Dr Nermin Abadan Unat, has recently joined the protests with the academics of the university. Her participation was especially crucial as she is turning 100 years old very soon.
Unat is one of the first women academics in Turkey and her work has focused on women’s rights in Turkey. She graduated from Law School at Istanbul University and did her graduate studies as a Fullbright student at the University of Minnesota, 1952-1953. She taught Political Science from 1953-1989 at the School of Political Science, Ankara University. She specializes in mass communication, electoral studies, as well as women’s studies and international migration.
Speaking to Yusuf Akcakaya from Oksijen newspaper, she underlined that:
“I waited to see if the reaction of the faculty members was temporary or permanent… I saw that they came together for the 150th time. It was admirable that they made a very gentle, soft protest movement. I didn’t expect it to take this long. There is a French expression, ‘l’esprit de corps’, namely community spirit. Accordingly, if people in a community are in close contact, they can demonstrate a common movement. This is the characteristic of the Boğaziçi protests; their union made this movement possible. Not every university is like that.”
Expressing that university students should choose their administration, Unat said that he wanted to give morale to academics and students:
“Even though I can’t stand up much anymore, I went to university to make a surprise. They were delighted to see it and applauded. I share the same opinion with them. In a democracy, should choose who they are governed by.
“Women’s struggle will not fade out”
Sharing her views on Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, Unat says that one of Turkey’s main issues in the coming days will be the climate crisis:
“We left the Istanbul Convention because of the expression which included the statement ‘all kinds of sexual orientation.’ This has offended some circles. Of course, this is a negative development, but women defend their rights and are much more robust than before.
I am very optimistic; this struggle will not subside. This is seen everywhere, for example, at the Olympics… Who would have expected before that women would be successful in the Olympics too? But they have and will continue.
“There are a lot of social problems that have been persistent for a long time. There is also the climate crisis, which is one of the main issues we face. People will be in a tough situation, as we lack accommodation in some cities of Turkey.”