The SES Equality and Solidarity Association honored women who served as inspirations through their struggles, both on a global scale and within Turkey, at the “SES Women of the Year” Award Ceremony, now in its third year. The event, held on January 18th at the Pera Museum, saw a broad participation.
The 2023 “SES Women of the Year” awards, determined through public votes and organized by the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, were presented at a ceremony held on the evening of January 18th at the Pera Museum.
Just like in previous years, a total of 13 women and groups from both Turkey and around the world were honored for their contributions to gender equality, peace, and solidarity. They were recognized for their pioneering roles in the fight for women’s rights, their unwavering feminist stance, inspirational achievements, or their resilience in contributing to solidarity by resisting systematic oppression. The recipients were chosen through the votes of 1887 individuals.
The ceremony was attended by notable individuals, including Ayşegül Doğan, the People’s Equality and Democratic Party (DEM) Şırnak Deputy and Party Spokesperson; Prof. Dr. Şengül Hablemitoğlu; Ayşe Gül Altınay, a faculty member at Sabancı University; former national volleyball player Selcan Çağlar; Nazan Moroğlu, Coordinator of Istanbul Women’s Organizations Information; Sera Kadıgil, a deputy of the Workers’ Party of Turkey (TİP) in Istanbul; Oya Baydar, writer, journalist, and sociologist; Gamze Cizreli, founder of the Big Chefs brand; Melek Ulagay, writer and director; Dr. Feyza Akınerdem, academician and sociologist; Hazal Sipahi, Project Coordinator of NewsLab Turkey and the winner of last year’s Women of the Year award; Hülya Gülbahar, women’s rights activist and lawyer, co-founder of the Platform for Equality for Women (EŞİK); and Prof. Dr. Fatma Gül Berktay, a political scientist.
The ceremony, held at the Pera Museum and hosted by Berna Laçin, featured an award booklet curated by Eda Doğançay. Aslı Alpar contributed the illustrations for the booklet, while the design was skillfully crafted by Rafineri. The introduction videos highlighting the Women of the Year, showcased during the event, were produced by Şeriban Alkış. The press communication for the event was managed by Marjinal Porter Novelli, with Ufuk Yeşil and Elif Yahyaoğlu coordinating the communication efforts.
Gülseren Onanç, the Founding President of the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, shared her reflections at the award ceremony: “The SES Women of the Year Award Ceremony is poised to be the most inspiring night of the year. As we celebrate the third edition this year, I hope we will continue with the 13th, the 23rd, and beyond. On this special evening, representatives from the women’s movement, LGBTQ+ movement, environmental movement, labor movement, community leaders, activists, journalists, and writers all come together. Just like every year, for the 2023 nominees, we selected women from those whose stories we shared throughout the year in our digital publication, the Equality Justice Women’s Platform. In the year 2023, declared as the “year of inequality” by the World Bank, we owe a debt of gratitude to the SES Women of the Year for their pioneering work, achievements, organized objections, and the support they provide to women’s solidarity in Turkey and around the world. I express my heartfelt thanks once again for their commitment to solidarity and the ongoing fight for equality.”
SES Women of the Year 2023
Feminist Solidarity for Disaster Relief; scientist Canan Dağdeviren; Deniz Gümüşel and Nejla Işık on behalf of women who resist ecocide in Akbelen; The National Women’s Volleyball Team for marking the year by successfully completing the Nations League, European Championship, and World Cup; Ayşe Büşra Yılmaz on behalf of unyielding women workers who persist in their resistance, women resisting the Taliban in Afghanistan; a parliamentarian from EMEP Gaziantep, Sevda Karaca, who brings the voice and power of working women to the parliament; chef Ebru Baybara Demir, the winner of the Nobel Prize in the gastronomy world, peace organizations of Palestinian and Israeli women, Women Wage Peace, and Women of the Sun; Actresses Evrim Alasya, Ceren Yalazoğlu Karakoç, and Sıla Türkoğlu on behalf of the famous TV Show, ‘Cranberry Sorbet’; Florence Konstantina Delight and Çiçek Tahaoğlu for producing a news bulletin that focuses on queer and feminist issues; Enif Yavuz Dipşar, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Social Services Department Head, who has spearheaded significant projects for gender equality and women’s solidarity at the local level.
The KAMER Foundation was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award this year.
Evrim Alasya, who received the award on behalf of ‘Cranberry Sorbet’ shared in her speech, “Women in this region carry incredibly weighty stories. With ‘Cranberry Sorbet’, we attempt to delve into a mere 1% of these profound narratives, though conveying them in their true essence is often challenging. Hopefully, as women in this region, we can one day narrate our stories.”
Mine Dağdeviren, stepping onto the stage to accept the award for Canan Dağdeviren, recognized for her revolutionary invention of the “electronic bra” for early breast cancer diagnosis and inclusion in BBC’s inspiring 100 women list for 2023, conveyed her emotions by saying, “Canan is not just my daughter; I am overjoyed because she is the daughter of both Turkey and the entire world. Her work and innovations return as a service to all people. As a child, she was curious, inquisitive, and had a relentless desire to learn until she found the answers.”
Chef Ebru Baybara Demir, the 2023 recipient of the Basque Culinary World Prize, hailed as the “Nobel of the gastronomy world,” accepted her award from Gamze Cizreli, the founder of the Big Chefs. Demir remarked, “My inspiration in every endeavor has been Atatürk. I discovered the identity of the noble Turkish nation in the kitchen in İskenderun. We are an extraordinary country, an extraordinary nation. We are all one big family, and I have fulfilled the duty I needed to within this family.”