In her weekly article, Gülseren Onanç, the Founding Chair of the SES Equality and Solidarity Association, reflects on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth and evaluates Liz Truss’s appointment as the UK’s prime minister.
If her uncle had not followed his heart and refused the throne, or if the family had a son, we would not have seen a woman as the ruler of the United Kingdom for seventy years. Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest reigning monarch and one of the most influential people in the world, passed away yesterday.
Maintained stability, inspired women to lead
The Guardian newspaper, known for its opposition to the monarchy, wrote in its editorial, “The sun did not set on the kingdom when she was born; the United Kingdom when she died was a medium-sized country with an uncertain future. When she came to the throne, imperial arrogance predicted the beginning of what would be called the “Elizabeth Age”. But that didn’t happen. Elizabeth adapted to historical change with pragmatic diligence. She embodied the distant sacred identity of the British monarchy and accepted an existence based on secular foundations. Although there were groundbreaking changes in her home country and the world during her lifetime, she has been an undeniable source of stability.”
In the United Kingdom, which boasts of being the most advanced democracy in the world and has a robust parliamentary system, Elizabeth was able to maintain her position despite the opposition to the monarchy that had been going on since the 90s. She managed to stay out of daily politics, apart from symbolic responsibilities such as appointing the Prime Minister and reading the program at the opening of the Parliament. She has hardly appeared in public, and on those rare occasions, she has played a unifying role, like supporting Northern Ireland’s reconciliation. She didn’t hesitate to shake hands with the leader of an organization that assassinated her great uncle. She established peaceful and respectable relations with the presidents of African countries who achieved their freedom.
Queen Elizabeth left this world, leaving an irreplaceable void for her country. From now on, it will be discussed how the monarchy will continue. Although it is now decided that the eldest child should succeed to the throne, regardless of male or female, three generations of men will lead the kingdom.
The presence of Queen Elizabeth was an important symbol that women could also occupy the most powerful positions in the world. In 2013, she publicly demonstrated her support for gender by signing the first British Commonwealth document adopted by 54 member states, covering the principles of democracy and the rule of law, freedom of expression and gender equality.
Throughout her reign, she had a significant impact on empowering women everywhere, inspiring women to lead.
Although Queen Elizabeth has remained silent on feminism, actress Olivia Colman, who played the Queen in Netflix’s hit series Crown, didn’t recognize the Queen as a “mainstream feminist” and said she admired her.
Sue Williamson, Associate Professor of Human Resource Management, stated, “Queen Elizabeth has been a role model for women in leadership. She showed how to deal with strong men and world leaders but also championed traditional family values that have not always promoted gender equality.”
She became a role model for female leadership in the country and the world. In the UK, Liz Truss became the third female prime minister two days before her death.
New ‘Iron Lady’ Liz Truss didn’t put white men in key positions
Truss, the third female prime minister of the United Kingdom after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May, seems to be a continuation of the conservative party’s iron lady tradition. Truss studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University and was actively involved in political activities as a student. Truss, who entered politics in 2001, was elected as a member of the Greenwich city council in London in 2006 and has been the vice president of the centre-right think tank Reform since 2008. She has been on the rise since 2010, when she was elected to Parliament. Truss, appointed to several important domestic and foreign policy positions in the government, has served as Minister for Women and Equality since 2019 and Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2021.
Liz Truss’ new cabinet is different from the previous cabinet. There are no white men in the top 4 positions, 35 per cent are women, and 30 per cent belong to black Asian or minority groups. Seventy per cent are private school graduates.
The female prime minister who removed the word woman from the ministry
Women in the UK are reacting to Liz Truss’s failure to include a minister focusing on gender equality in her cabinet and her appointment of Nadim Zahawi as Minister for both Intergovernmental Affairs and Equality. The opposition says that removing the word ‘women’ by someone who previously served as Minister of Women and Equality means downplaying the women’s agenda.
We condemn the statement “We may come suddenly one night” and demand peace
Returning to our region, while the Ukraine-Russia war continues right next to us, we condemn President Erdoğan’s statement, “One night, we may come suddenly,” using masculine militarist language against Greece. Two years ago, we came together with thousands of women on both sides of the Aegean to end the escalating Eastern Mediterranean tension between Turkey and Greece.
As we said two years ago, we believe that Greece and Turkey can resolve their disagreements peacefully and through careful diplomacy. We reiterate our demand that the societies of Greece and Turkey, which we had rested as thousands of women two years ago, live side by side in peace.
Women will protect the legacy of leadership left by Queen Elizabeth by building peace in their countries and the world.